


The Connected

by KeiSense



Series: Connected [1]
Category: the GazettE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Master/Servant, REALLY eventual, Ruki overthinks everything, vaguely historical setting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:01:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24990469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeiSense/pseuds/KeiSense
Summary: If their Master feels pain, a Connected will also feel it.If their physical distance from their Master is too great, a Connected will experience profound distress.If their Master should die, a Connected will also die.These are the rules of the Connected.
Relationships: Aoi/Kai (the GazettE), Reita/Ruki (the GazettE)
Series: Connected [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1953082
Comments: 72
Kudos: 46





	1. Ruki's Gift

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I marked this work "Explicit" and "Graphic Depictions of Violence", but all of that happens much later in the story. And I tried to keep those things to a minimum.

Ruki poked his head out from behind his father’s legs and appraised the other boy in the room. He couldn’t be much older than Ruki’s seven years. He was taller than Ruki but scrawny, obviously not well-fed, and he was wearing only a simple white robe, unlike the elaborate and expensive outfit Ruki’s father had made him wear for the ceremony. His blond hair was cut short, unlike Ruki’s wavy black hair that fell just above his shoulders. Ruki thought the other boy must not know much about what was fashionable at the moment. He also thought the other boy looked nervous, and he realized neither of them knew what was going on here. The adults were talking, but Ruki wasn’t paying attention until his father nudged his shoulder.

“Ruki, did you hear what he just said?”

Ruki looked between his father and the other adult. His father had tried to explain who the old man was, but the only thing that stuck was that the man was here to do magic. Ruki had heard of Magic Men, but he had never seen one before. Somehow, he wasn’t impressed. He had expected Magic Men to look like the sorcerers in his story books, with long beards and pointy hats. This man looked just like any other old man, without any facial hair at all and nothing covering his short gray hair. Both of the men were staring at him, waiting for an answer, so Ruki only shook his head. The old man smiled kindly and kneeled in front of him.

“I said, I’m going to need a few drops of your blood.”

“Why?” Ruki returned to his hiding spot behind his father.

“I need it for the ceremony to make the connection between you and Reita,” the old man said, indicating the other young boy. “Once I make the connection, Reita will be your servant and do whatever you tell him to.”

“But we have other servants who do what we tell them to without my blood,” Ruki said, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“You haven’t been listening to a word he’s been saying,” Ruki’s father said, shaking his head, a hint of anger in his voice. “A Connected is a special kind of servant.”

“It’s all right, Ryo,” the old man said to Ruki’s father. He turned back to the frightened child with a warm smile. “He’s right. Your Connected won’t be like your other servants. If you got hurt with no one around, would any of your other servants know about it?” Ruki shook his head uncertainly. “Well, Reita will be able to feel your pain, so he can get help if you’re hurt. And here’s another thing. Do your other servants ever leave and not come back?” Ruki nodded. “Reita will never do that. Once you two are connected, if he gets too far away from you, he’ll be very sad. He won’t want to be sad, so he’ll never leave you. He’ll be with you your whole life. But to make that connection, I just need to make a little cut on your finger.” He pulled an ornate, curved knife out of his robe and Ruki cowered back. His father reached down and grabbed him by the shoulders, holding him so he was facing the old man and couldn’t get away.

“Now Ruki, you need to behave,” he said sternly. “Just hold still for a few moments. It will be over before you know it.” Ruki was still afraid, but he didn’t want to upset his father. He didn’t fight when the old man took his hand and pricked his finger with the tip of the knife, squeezing a few drops of blood into a small bowl which had also been hiding in the folds of his robe. He did, however, immediately start crying and he pulled his finger into his mouth the moment the old man let go of it. The old man gave Ruki a quick pat on the shoulder before taking Reita’s hand and leading him behind a heavy curtain.

“The two of you don’t need to witness the ceremony, so please wait out here.” He paused before turning back to them. “The boy may feel a bit of discomfort as the connection is being created. Nothing painful, just strange. It will pass quickly, but you may need to calm him.” Ruki’s father nodded his understanding and the old man disappeared behind the curtain.

Ruki’s father led him to a nearby bench and they sat side-by-side. He wrapped an arm around the boy’s shoulders and gave him a reassuring smile.

“It won’t be long now,” he said. “From what I’ve heard, the ceremony only takes a few minutes. Then we can take your gift home with us. Isn’t that exciting?”

“Yes, father,” Ruki replied, trying to sound more enthusiastic than he actually felt.

“Happy birthday, Ruki.”

* * *

The two boys sat awkwardly next to each other at the dining table. They hadn’t said anything to each other since they left the temple, not even when they stopped to buy Reita some new clothes. He had only answered any questions Ruki’s father had asked him. Ruki didn’t know what to say to this strange boy, and Reita didn’t dare start a conversation. Luckily, a growl from Ruki’s stomach effectively broke the silence.

“Boy, I’m hungry! I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“Would you like me to get you some food, Master?” Reita asked eagerly.

“My name is Ruki,” the other boy replied. “Call me Ruki.”

“I’m sorry. He said I must always call you Master.”

“Hmmph.” Ruki crossed his arms defiantly. He didn’t like the idea of being called Master. All of the other servants in the house called him by his name after he insisted they do so. He decided not to press the issue for now. “Are you hungry?” Reita gave a small nod. Ruki grabbed him by the hand and led him through a door into the kitchen and straight to the pantry, ignoring the various cooks and kitchen maids scurrying around them. “Here. You can take whatever you want whenever you want. We always have lots of food.”

“Ruki.” His father’s voice rang through the room. Ruki hadn’t even noticed him standing nearby, having a conversation with one of the cooks. “I hope you aren’t sneaking any food. We’ll be having dinner soon.”

“Never mind,” Ruki said with a pout. “You can take stuff whenever you want, except when he says you can’t.” He glanced at his father, making sure he wasn’t watching, reached his small hand out, grabbed a couple pieces of candy from a jar, and handed one to Reita. “Shhhh, don’t let him know.” Reita nodded earnestly and they headed back to the table, trying to eat the candies as discreetly as possible. Ruki’s father came into the room soon after.

“Dinner will be served in a few minutes.” He gave Ruki a confused look. “Why are you two sitting so close? You’re practically on top of him, Ruki.” Ruki had moved his chair as close to Reita’s as possible, close enough that their legs and arms were touching.

“The Magic Man said if he gets too far from me, he’ll get sad,” Ruki replied. “I don’t want him to be sad.”

“He meant very far away. I think as long as you’re in the same house, it should be fine, much less the same room. So you don’t have to stay so close to him.” Ruki wasn’t convinced, but he still returned his chair back to where it had been before he had moved it to be closer to Reita. He didn’t want to anger his father by showing that he didn’t believe what he said. “Perhaps Reita should go eat with the other servants in the kitchen.”

“No,” Ruki said quickly. His father raised an eyebrow and Ruki remembered his manners. “I mean, you said earlier that he can eat with us tonight. Please can he?”

“Very well,” his father replied with a sigh. At that moment, a group of servants entered with their meal. The three of them ate mostly in silence. They were eating dessert when Ruki started to feel the effects of the busy day.

“I’m sleepy. Will you please read to Reita and me before we go to sleep?”

“Ruki, Reita won’t be sleeping in the same room as you. I’ve had a bed put in that spare room next to yours.”

“Oh, I thought we could put another bed in my room,” Ruki replied, trying not to show his disappointment.

“No, I think it best for him to have his own room. And I’m sorry, but I can’t read to you tonight. I have to leave on a trip as soon as we’re done here.”

“But,” Ruki protested, “it’s my birthday. Can’t you leave in the morning?”

“No, I’m sorry. I have to be there for a breakfast meeting and it’s too far away to leave in the morning. I know it’s your birthday, but this trip is very important.”

“You always say it’s important.” Ruki’s lower lip had begun to tremble.

“And it always is!” He banged his fist against the table, making both boys jump. He saw the hurt look on his son’s face and tried to soften his tone. “I’m sorry, Ru. If I could stay here with you, I would. I’ll be home in a few days and we’ll spend more time together. I need you to be brave for me until then, okay?” Ruki gave a small nod, keeping his eyes down.

* * *

Ruki heard a knock on his bedroom door and quickly wiped his eyes.

“Come in,” he called. The door opened and Reita took a few tentative steps into the room.

“Master, why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying,” Ruki replied petulantly, though his voice was thick and his eyes were rimmed in red and still wet.

“Ok. I’m sorry I bothered you, Master.” Reita bowed slightly and left the room, closing the door behind him. Ruki could hear the door of the room next door open and close. After a few minutes of sniffling, Ruki left his room, taking along one of his favorite toys, a stuffed bunny, and went into Reita’s room without knocking. The room had previously been used for storage and Ruki couldn’t remember ever going into it. It was much smaller than his own bedroom, and had clearly been prepared in a hurry. There were still random objects on one side of the room. The simple bed was in the middle of the room, and the only other furniture was a small nightstand with a single candle. It was a shocking contrast to Ruki’s own room, with its plush bed, mountains of toys, bookshelves lined with every book Ruki had ever shown interest in, and several candelabras. 

Reita was laying in his small bed, but not yet asleep, only a thin blanket covering him even though it was still winter. Ruki climbed into the bed and laid down next to the other boy. Reita didn’t protest, instead shifting over to give his master more room.

“How did you know I was crying?” Ruki asked.

“I could hear you through the wall. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to listen.”

“It’s ok.” Ruki swallowed heavily. “I was crying because my father left again. He’s always away.”

“Where’s your mom?”

“She died.” Ruki took a deep breath to keep himself from crying again. “That’s why Father got you for me. So I can have company when he’s not here. He didn’t spend as much time away when she was alive. And he was nicer.” Reita didn’t say anything and Ruki scooted closer. “Are you sad that you’re here?” Reita shook his head “no” and Ruki smiled. “What was your life like before you came here?”

“I lived in a children’s home,” Reita replied. “I don’t have any parents, so I lived there my whole life. There were a lot of children there. Sometimes, the Magic Man would come and take one of us with him. Today was my turn.”

“He wouldn’t let us watch the ceremony. What did he do to you?”

“Not much. First, he told me the rules and how I should behave. Then, he mumbled some strange words and rubbed your blood on my forehead. It felt like he was drawing or writing something, but when we were done there was nothing there. Then, I saw a bright light. And I felt weird. Kind of like I was shaking, but I wasn’t. And like there was something pulling in my chest.”

“I felt that, too. It was really weird. I’m glad he didn’t hurt you. I was afraid he was going to when he wouldn’t let us see what he was doing.” Ruki yawned, but didn’t want to move. “Can I sleep in here with you tonight?”

“You can do whatever you want, Master,” Reita replied with a kind smile.

“Reita, I want you to have this.” He handed the stuffed bunny to Reita, who examined it critically. “You need to have toys. That will be your first one. And I’ll get you a better blanket tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Master,” Reita replied, holding the toy to his chest.

“Do you really have to call me Master?”

“Yes, Master. I have to.”


	2. Acclimation

“Hey, Reita! I’ll race you to that tree.” Ruki pointed across the yard to a big tree near the edge of the property. Ruki had been giving Reita a tour of the extensive grounds, but he was getting bored. Reita gave him an unsure look and Ruki rolled his eyes. “Come on! We won’t get in trouble or anything.”

Reita reluctantly agreed and the two boys lined up to start running. Ruki yelled “Go!” and they took off. Reita tried to hold back so he could let Ruki win, but he quickly found himself pulling away. This was the first time in his life he’d been allowed to run in open space and he felt elated. However, his good time was quickly cut short and he stopped in his tracks when he felt sudden pain in his knee and hands. Reita looked down at his hands, but there was nothing wrong with them. He turned around and saw Ruki lying face down on the ground. He ran back as quickly as he could, trying to ignore the pain, but Ruki was already beginning to cry when he arrived. Reita quickly examined him. His palms were scraped, but not bleeding. His right knee, on the other hand, was bleeding badly and Ruki wouldn’t look at it.

“It’s not that bad,” Reita said, trying to calm the other boy.

“It is that bad! It’s bleeeeeeding!” Ruki was sobbing hysterically.

“I know it’s bleeding. But it doesn’t really hurt that bad, right?” Ruki nodded between sobs. “No, it doesn’t. I feel your pain, remember? And I’m not crying, so it can’t be that bad.” Ruki calmed down a bit when he saw the logic of what the other boy said.

“Y-you really feel it?”

“I do. And the pain’s already starting to go away. You feel that, right?” Ruki took a shaking breath but nodded. Reita helped Ruki up, allowing the injured boy to lean on him. “Let’s get inside. Your knee needs a bandage.”

Once they were inside, the boys found the head butler, Uruha, a man Ruki knew had some medical training, and Reita explained that Ruki had been injured. The butler picked the small boy up, not at all concerned about blood getting on his immaculately pressed suit, and carried him to the kitchen where medical supplies were kept, Reita limping slightly as he followed.

“How did this happen?” the man asked as he tended to the wound, glaring at Reita out of the side of his eye. A small group of maids were watching him work. Ruki felt a bit of pride that the girls were paying so much attention to him, not understanding that it was Uruha’s nimble fingers and intent frown behind his glasses that had drawn their attention.

“We were racing and I tripped,” Ruki explained, completely oblivious to the suspicion Uruha was clearly showing. “It doesn’t really hurt anymore. Reita just thought it should be bandaged.”

“And where was your servant when you tripped?”

“Winning the race,” Ruki laughed. “He was way ahead of me.”

“I see. Well,” Uruha said, finishing up, “you’re good as new. I wouldn’t suggest racing again any time soon though.”

“We won’t,” Ruki declared, taking Reita’s hand. “Come on, let’s go to my room and play.”

“Let me talk to your servant for a moment,” the butler said, holding onto Reita’s shoulder. “I’ll send him right up.”

“Send some cookies with him,” Ruki said happily, walking swiftly in the direction of the main staircase. As soon as Ruki was gone, Uruha shooed the girls out of the room and bent down so he and Reita were face to face. Though he had a kind face and slight build, Uruha was very tall and Reita was appropriately intimidated.

“Is what he said true? He only tripped?”

“If he says that’s what happened,” Reita replied timidly. “I didn’t see him fall. He was behind me.”

“You didn’t try to hurt him, did you?” The man was glaring down at him threateningly.

“I would never hurt my master,” Reita said earnestly. “Besides, don’t you know the rules of a Connected?”

“I know you feel his pain. I noticed you limping earlier. That can’t be easy. Having to feel pain that isn’t yours. That sounds like an arrangement you would want to get out of. I know I would. What’s to stop you from killing him to break the connection?”

“You don’t know the rules,” Reita scoffed. “If my master dies, I die too. It would be stupid for me to kill him. Not that I would want to.” Reita turned to the pantry and grabbed some cookies, placing them on a plate. “My master wants to play, so I’m leaving.” Reita began walking out of the kitchen, but the butler stopped him again.

“Look, Ruki’s a good kid. His happiness is very important to me. So, if I do hear that you’ve hurt him in any way, you’ll have to answer to me.”

Reita nodded solemnly and headed directly to Ruki’s room. Ruki had already taken out a big box full of building blocks and was starting a project. Reita set the cookies down on the floor next to the box and took a seat. 

“The butler doesn’t like me,” he said quietly.

“Oh, Uruha’s a nice guy. He always takes good care of me. He’ll warm up to you.”

The boys worked diligently on the project for more than an hour, eating cookies as they went, until Ruki decided he was tired. He leaned back against his bed to observe the other boy.

“What’s your favorite book?” Ruki asked without any preamble.

“I don’t know how to read, Master,” Reita replied, not taking his eyes off his work.

“If you want to learn, I’ll have my tutors teach you.”

“I would like that a lot! That’s very friendly of you, Master.” Reita gave Ruki a big smile, but returned his attention to the blocks when Ruki didn’t say anything else. Several minutes passed before Ruki broke the silence again.

“I want to be your friend,” Ruki said. Reita looked up at him in surprise. “I know you’re supposed to be my servant. But I don’t need another servant. I have plenty. I want a friend.”

“I want to be your friend too, Master,” Reita replied with a wide grin.

“You can stop calling me Master.”

“No, I can’t.” Reita cast his eyes down to the blocks in front of him. “I have to call you Master as long as we’re connected.”

“So, if I set you free, you’d call me Ruki?” Reita gave him another surprised look. “The Magic Man said I can set you free if I really want to. He told me how. It’s easy. But Father said I’m not allowed to. He’d be very upset if I did.” Ruki scowled thoughtfully. “Do you want me to set you free?”

“I don’t know,” Reita responded after thinking for a moment. “If you set me free and your father found out, he’d probably send me away, right?” Ruki nodded. “I don’t have a home to go to. And if we’re going to be friends, being your servant will be fun. So… no. I don’t think I want you to.”

“Good,” Ruki said with a grin. “I wouldn’t want you to go away so soon. But if you ever want me to, just say so and I will. Deal?” He held out his tiny hand to Reita. The other boy took his hand and shook it, both of them smiling widely.

* * *

“Troops,” Ruki began, his voice louder than usual. “We have a problem.” He paced back and forth in front of his audience, his chin high in the air, hands clasped behind his back. The audience consisted of his tutors and Uruha, all of whom were trying hard not to chuckle. They had seen this from him before. He would do this military man act any time he was going to give them an order and he really wanted them to listen. The last time he had gathered them like this, it was to inform them that they would be giving him a piece of chocolate any time he did well in a lesson. They had complied until the inevitable happened: his father found out and told Ruki that it would no longer be happening. Education was its own reward, he said.

“I have to go through your lessons almost every day all by myself and it is complete torture. I can no longer stand it. I have decided that if I have to go through the _agony_ of training to be a proper gentleman, I won’t be doing it alone. My Connected, Reita, will be joining me for lessons. He will be taught to read and write, to dance and play violin, and how to be a business man. All the things that you teach to me, you will teach to him.”

The group of tutors were shocked. None of them could think of anything to say until the man in charge of teaching the boy reading and writing cleared his throat.

“Ruki, I’m not sure it would be proper for us to educate your servant. Have you spoken to the lord of the manor about this?”

“I don’t need to,” Ruki replied, glaring at the man. “Father told me that Reita is mine and that I may do with him as I wish. This is what I wish.”

“If that is Ruki’s wish, we must honor it,” Uruha said, a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

The tutors didn’t argue anymore. They knew it would be pointless anyway, unless they brought Ruki’s father into the conversation, and he was away on business. So, Reita began attending Ruki’s lessons, learning alongside his master. He picked up reading and writing quickly, and Ruki was happy to see how much he enjoyed it. He had a bookshelf moved into Reita’s room and immediately began filling it with copies of his favorite books. During dance lessons, Reita would act as Ruki’s partner, which proved helpful for the instructor as it gave her the ability to observe her student’s progress more easily.

Uruha would often supervise the lessons. Ruki had been right; Uruha and Reita warmed up to each other quickly. Reita would try to make the older man laugh any chance he got because he thought it was funny how his nose scrunched up when he did. For his part, the butler took it upon himself to train Reita how to be a proper servant, one who would be, as he said, “worthy of escorting our young master wherever he goes”.

Eventually, Ruki’s father did learn of the arrangement regarding Reita’s education. As the tutors had expected, he wasn’t pleased. At first, he told Ruki that he would not allow it. However, after much crying and pleading from the boy, and a long conversation with Uruha, he gave in and allowed Reita to be educated. He reasoned that, since he had purchased Reita to keep his son company, he would be attending the lessons anyway. They couldn’t stop him from learning just by observation, so they might as well include him in the lessons. He also found, to his great pleasure, that Ruki was more attentive during lessons now that someone was learning alongside him. However, he was concerned that the boys were becoming too familiar with each other.

“You need to remember that he is a servant,” he said to Ruki one night when Reita wasn’t around. “You should give him orders and punish him when he misbehaves. Look at how I treat our other servants and try to treat him in the same manner.”

“Yes, sir. I will,” Ruki replied, having absolutely no intention of doing so. He’d meant it when he told Reita that he wanted to be his friend, not his master. But he knew his father would be upset if he outright disobeyed. So, he would give Reita orders, sending him on small errands, but he would always make a game of it. Reita wasn’t following orders; he was going on dangerous missions. Uruha would often be involved in these games, being the only other servant they fully trusted, though he had to first swear on his life that he would never tell. And, just as both boys had hoped, their friendship grew quickly, and they were happy together.


	3. Strangers and New Friends

Reita and Ruki excitedly walked down the bustling market street. They had been to the city on several occasions, but never without supervision. However, on this day, Ruki had told his father that, at the ripe age of 13, he was now practically an adult. He wanted the freedoms an adult had, including the ability to explore the market street independently. His father had good-naturedly agreed to the excursion, provided Reita never left Ruki’s side and that they returned in time for the company they were expecting that afternoon.

So here they were, passing vendors and looking in shop windows, no longer children dutifully following an adult, but men forging their own path. They stopped at every sweet shop they came across, Reita waited patiently as Ruki tried on the latest fashions in countless clothing stores, and Ruki bought Reita everything that caught his eye at a quaint bookstore they happened to find. They were both carrying several bags by the time they decided to head back up the street and meet up with their carriage. They had almost reached the meeting point when two men stepped into their path.

“Excuse me, sirs. Have you heard of the Connected?” the taller of the men asked, handing Ruki a sheet of paper. 

“No,” Ruki said, quickly deciding that he didn’t like the look of these men and that playing dumb was his best option. “What is that?”

“The Connected are slaves,” the other man said. “People who have been bound to their owners through magic. Forced to live terrible lives, incapable of running away. This paper outlines the horrors they have to face. They actually feel the pain of their owners. Can you imagine such misery? Aristocrats have been participating in this atrocity for decades, but it has only recently been made public. Still, not many people are aware that this is going on.”

“That’s why we’re trying to spread the word,” the first man continued. “We are encouraging every citizen of good conscience to petition the emperor to put an end to this barbaric practice. If enough of us fight against this, the emperor will have to listen, despite what the aristocracy say. The voices of young, forward-thinking people like yourselves will most likely have an even bigger impact.”

“Yes, it sounds horrible,” Reita said, looking over Ruki’s shoulder to scan the paper he was holding. “We will certainly contact the emperor’s palace right away. If you’ll excuse us, we’re running a bit late.” Reita moved to walk around the men, grabbing Ruki’s elbow to urge him to follow.

“We appreciate the support, sir. Please tell your friends to do the same.” Ruki followed Reita’s lead and nodded to the men as he passed.

Neither of them spoke as they continued their walk up the street, and they sat across from each other in silence as they commenced the carriage ride back to the manor. Ruki nervously looked at Reita, who was frowning and twisting his hands together. He felt like he should apologize to the other boy, but he didn’t know what to apologize for, or how it would help. So, instead, he sat quietly, trying to think of anything he could say to make the other boy feel better.

“I don’t have a terrible life, Master,” Reita said, finally breaking the silence. “Those people don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Are you sure? This makes it sound pretty awful,” Ruki said, indicating the paper still in his hand. It outlined the rules of a Connected: feeling their master’s pain, experiencing distress when too far away from their master, and dying when their master dies. Ruki had only learned about that rule a couple of years ago, and the thought still made him uncomfortable.

“Of course I’m sure! I feel like… how do I say this? I feel like I’m not really a servant. I’m treated much better than the other servants in the house. You never make me do things that you could do yourself. I’m receiving the best education anyone could ask for. And we have that deal that you’ll set me free if I ever want you to. I can leave at any time if I really want to. I’m not trapped, like they said. It really isn’t like being a servant at all. It’s like living with my best friend.”

Ruki moved to sit next to Reita and leaned his head on his shoulder.

“You’re my best friend too. And I’m very happy you don’t hate your life.” Both boys laughed and Reita slung his arm around Ruki’s shoulder. The rest of the ride home was spent lightheartedly.

When they arrived back at the manor, they went straight to their rooms to put away their purchases, making sure the candy was somewhere a maid wouldn’t find it. Then, they quickly changed into slightly nicer clothing and prepared to receive their guests. They had just finished getting ready when they heard the sounds of people arriving downstairs. They hurried down the staircase and Ruki’s father was still greeting the guests in the entryway when they arrived. The guests today were familiar to both of them – the man was a business associate of Ruki’s father, the woman was his wife, and the dark-haired boy was their son, Aoi. Ruki and Aoi had been good friends for years and Reita had always found the other boy pleasant enough. There was another young boy with him today that neither of them had ever met, though Reita thought he looked vaguely familiar. He seemed to be about the same age as them and he shyly kept his head down, peeking out at them from behind his bangs.

“Hey, Ru,” Aoi called out excitedly. His mother nudged him and gave him a disapproving look. He quickly schooled himself, but Ruki could still see that he was bursting at the seams to tell him something. Ruki greeted their guests while Reita stood back at a respectful distance.

“There’s still some time before dinner,” Ruki’s father said. “Why don’t we go talk shop in my study? Boys, go wait in the dining room. And stay out of trouble.”

The four boys quietly walked to the dining room, knowing they’d get yelled at if they made any noise. They each took a seat at the table, except for the strange boy. He stood near Aoi, looking like he wasn’t sure what to do. It took a moment for Aoi to notice.

“Oh,” he said once he realized. “You can sit down.” The boy took a seat next to Aoi and sat stiffly.

“What’s up with your friend?” Ruki asked, dropping his manners now that there weren’t any adults around.

“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” Aoi said, practically bouncing in his seat. “Mother insisted that I get a Connected of my own. Something about how it shows our position in society. We just had the ceremony today. This is my new friend, Kai.”

Reita gasped slightly and the other boys looked at him in surprise.

“Is there something wrong, Reita?” Ruki asked.

“Reita,” Kai exclaimed. “I thought you looked familiar!”

They smiled broadly at each other, further increasing the confusion of their masters.

“We were in the children’s home together,” Reita explained. “But we haven’t seen each other in years.” He turned his attention to Kai. “I’m glad you got out of there, too. You’re going to love living in a big house.”

“Glad he got out? Was the children’s home that bad?” Aoi asked.

“It certainly wasn’t as nice as this,” Reita said, laughing. “They weren’t mean to us or anything. But places like that don’t have a lot of money. Some days a little bit of bread was all we would get to eat. We were always dirty. I think when the Magic Man gave me a bath the day of the ceremony, it was the first real bath I’d ever had. And the beds were full of bugs.”

“That sounds awful,” Ruki replied. “Maybe if those people we met today knew what your life was like before you became a Connected, they wouldn’t think your life now was so terrible.”

“What people did you meet?” Aoi asked.

“Apparently, there is a group of people trying to get the emperor to ban the practice of having a Connected. I’ll show you the reading materials they gave us. It really makes you think. I would like to say I’ve never mistreated Reita, but…”

“I already told you that you haven’t, Master.” Reita grinned but his smile dropped when he saw the scowl on Kai’s face. “Is there something wrong, Kai?” Kai seemed surprised to be addressed, but shook his head and looked down at the table.

“What is it, Kai? You can tell us,” Aoi said reassuringly.

“It’s just… You speak so freely in front of your master. It isn’t proper.” The other three boys laughed and Kai looked ashamed.

“Reita is free to do and say what he pleases,” Ruki responded. “We’re friends.”

“That’s how I want us to be,” Aoi said, turning to Kai. “You can feel free to be yourself around me. Except when my parents are around; they wouldn’t approve. In fact, when we’re alone, you don’t have to call me Master.” Kai looked shocked and Ruki laughed.

“You won’t break him of that. Trust me, I’ve been trying to get this one to call me by my real name for six years. Unless we set them free, it isn’t going to happen.”

The four boys continued chatting for a while, though Kai was still uncomfortable expressing himself freely. However, as soon as the adults entered the room, they dropped into well-mannered silence. Aoi’s mother cast a disapproving glance toward Reita and Kai.

“Don’t get used to this, boy,” she said. “Ryo’s household is the only one I know of where servants are allowed to dine with their masters.”

“Well, not all of the servants,” Ruki’s father said, forcing a laugh. “Most of them eat in the kitchen. But I spend so much time away on business, I decided it was best to allow Ruki one dining companion. I wouldn’t want the boy to get lonely.”

The woman clucked her tongue but refrained from commenting further. The boys passed the meal uncomfortably and they rushed to Ruki’s room when his father dismissed them before after-dinner drinks were served. Ruki and Reita happily shared some of the sweets they’d purchased earlier that day. At one point, while Aoi and Ruki were talking about the embarrassing moment a friend of theirs had at a party recently, Kai pulled Reita aside.

“Is your master really so kind to you?” he asked shyly.

“Of course! My master is wonderful! And don’t worry about Aoi. I’ve known him a long time and I know he’ll be kind to you. I remember how nervous I was when I first came here, but we are both honestly very lucky to have these boys as our masters.”

“What’s it like? Feeling someone else’s pain?”

“It’s strange,” Reita replied with a frown. “You feel it at the same strength your master does. When we were younger, my master would cry every time he got hurt, even if it didn’t really hurt that bad. The other servants would go running to his rescue.” Reita rolled his eyes. “Since I knew it didn’t really hurt that bad, I just told him to quit being a baby. I think it toughened him up a bit.” He saw the worried look on Kai’s face. “But it’s usually not something bad. My master does have a tendency to stub his toe on that big trunk by the bed, even though he knows it’s there. Other than that, I rarely even notice.”

“And, the sadness? When you’re separated from him?”

“I don’t know,” Reita said, biting his lip. “I’ve never been far enough from my master to feel it. He makes sure we’re always together. I’m sure Aoi will do the same for you, as long as you make sure he knows about the rule.”

“Thank you, Reita,” Kai said with a warm smile. “Just seeing how happy you are here has been a big help.”

They rejoined the other two boys in time to hear Aoi declaring that he would start teaching Kai, reasoning that his mother would never allow his tutors to do so.

“Your mother is a bit… severe,” Ruki said. “Even more than my father.”

“She’s an evil old witch,” Aoi said, laughing. “But we won’t let her stop us from having fun!” He playfully elbowed Kai and all of the boys started laughing. By the time a maid came to fetch them, they were exhausted but happy and even Kai was laughing non-stop.


	4. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains some violence and a fair amount of angst.

A few days later, Ruki and Reita decided to embark on a different kind of adventure. The head chef had made a large batch of Ruki’s favorite pastry for a party to be held later that night. The boys had been strictly forbidden from eating any before the party began. But the scent of them had wafted through the house and was driving Ruki insane. He had, therefore, convinced Reita to help him steal a couple.

They snuck into the kitchen when they were sure there was no one inside. They knew they would have an opportunity. The cooks had gone to the market to get more supplies for the food they would be serving that evening, and most of the kitchen maids had been enlisted to help prepare the house. The pastries were sitting on the counter to cool, looking like they had been placed there just to tempt them. They crept over to the display and deeply inhaled the buttery sweet scent. Ruki held up the small box he’d brought with him. They couldn’t risk eating the pastries in the kitchen; it would increase their chances of being caught. Ruki had brought the box with him so they could carry their ill-gotten goods back to his room without detection. Reita placed one pastry carefully in the box, and was about to grab the second when a voice rang through the room.

“What are you two doing?” Both boys slowly turned to see who was addressing them. It was one of the kitchen maids, Kane, a pretty girl only a year older than them. “If I recall correctly, the lord of the manor expressly said you two were not allowed to have any of those until after the guests arrive.”

“Come now,” Reita said, putting on a charming smile. He had caught the girl staring at him several times lately and knew she had taken a liking to him. “We’re only taking two. No one will notice.”

“And what if they do?” She was smiling back at him flirtatiously.

“Well, maybe you could say they fell on the floor. An accident. You had to throw them out.” He was leaning against the counter with a cocky swagger and she was clearly being affected, a small blush creeping on her cheeks. Neither of them noticed Ruki watching the scene with a scowl.

“I guess I could do that. But what will you do for me in return?”

“What do you want?”

The girl beckoned him closer and he grinned wickedly as he approached her. She pointed to a spot on her cheek and Reita leaned in to give her a kiss there. But he never made it all the way. Before he could place his lips on her cheek, his eyes widened and he fell to his knees, screaming and clutching his left hand. At the same time, Ruki also let out a loud scream. Reita looked over and saw his master sitting on the floor, with a slim kitchen knife stuck through his left hand.

Kane ran from the room, screaming for help. Reita quickly looked around the room to see who could have hurt Ruki, but there was no one else anywhere to be seen. He crawled over to Ruki, who had fallen over onto his back and was clutching his hand to his chest, tears streaming down his face. Reita realized with some surprise that he was crying too. He had never felt so much pain. But he tried to remain calm until help came.

“Master! Master, what happened?” Ruki was having trouble breathing through his sobs and his eyes were shut tight. Reita knew he wouldn’t get an answer, so instead he stroked the other boy’s forehead in an effort to help him relax. “It’s ok, Master. Help is coming.”

Only a few moments later, Kane returned, bringing Uruha and the gardener with her. The gardener, who was a large man, picked Ruki up easily and carried him to the table where servants ate their meals. Meanwhile, Uruha fetched several items from the stores of medical supplies.

“Drink this, Ruki,” he said, holding a small vial to the boy’s mouth.

“What is that?” Reita asked.

“It’s something I got from the Magic Men. It will help with the pain.” He tipped the liquid into Ruki’s mouth. “There you go. It should work soon.” Uruha was tenderly holding Ruki’s uninjured hand while the gardener gathered sterile strips to use as bandages. It didn’t take long before Reita could feel the pain in his hand dissipating. The butler looked over to him and he nodded, confirming the concoction had worked. “Ruki, we’re going to take the knife out now. It shouldn’t hurt, but I want you to keep your eyes closed.” Ruki nodded as the gardener gripped the handle of the knife and quickly pulled it out, immediately applying pressure to the wound. Uruha was right; there was no pain and both boys let out a sigh of relief.

Reita watched in silence as the men tended to the wound, washing it and making sure it was wrapped tightly. He still couldn’t understand how this could have happened. He was sure he would have noticed if someone else had been in the room. But it also didn’t make sense that such an injury could have been accidental. Ruki hadn’t been using a knife for anything, after all. That left him with only one option.

“Master,” Reita began quietly. He didn’t want to believe his suspicions were true, but he had to ask. “Did you… did you do this to yourself?”

The men stopped working, looking between the two boys. Ruki looked away from Reita, fresh tears in his eyes, and nodded. Without a word, Reita immediately stood up and stormed to his room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

A medicine man was quickly fetched. He examined Ruki’s injured hand, occasionally making small disapproving noises. Finally, he patted Ruki on the shoulder and smiled.

“You’re a very lucky boy. There’s no damage to the tendons, no broken bones, no artery damage that I can see. You could have lost the use of the hand. Instead, you’ll be fine in a few weeks.” He gave Ruki and Uruha instructions on how to care for the wound, and left him with some herbal tea that would help with the pain.

Ruki still had to make an appearance at the party that night, so he put on a pair of nice gloves to cover the bandage. He made his way through the crowd of guests, trying to keep that hand at his side and smiling like nothing was wrong. He ran out of energy quickly, though. He was stuck with a group of his father’s business associates and their wives. The women were cooing over how cute Ruki looked in his party outfit. The men were boring him with stories. He cast a pleading glance in his father’s direction. The older man had, of course, been informed of his son’s injury, but he hadn’t had time to sit and talk with him about it before party-goers began to arrive. However, he didn’t miss the distressed look on the boy’s face.

“Excuse me,” he said, smiling broadly as he approached the group. “Ruki has had a very busy day and I’m afraid I promised him he could go to bed early.” The women made disappointed noises, but quickly turned their attention elsewhere.

“Thank you, Father.” Ruki gave his father a grateful smile before heading toward his room. He stopped outside the door to Reita’s room, hesitating to move on. He knew the other boy wouldn’t want to talk to him. He didn’t even know what he would say. But he desperately wanted to talk to his friend.

He walked in without knocking, as usual. Reita was lying in bed, reading a book. He glanced up when he heard the door open and set his book aside when he saw that it was Ruki visiting him. Ruki climbed into the bed next to him and they laid facing each other.

“How’s your hand?” Reita asked.

“Ok,” Ruki shrugged. “I didn’t do any permanent damage.”

“It felt like you did,” Reita replied with a chuckle.

“I’m so sorry.” Ruki immediately started sobbing and Reita rubbed his arm soothingly.

“Why did you do it?”

“I don’t know. I just… suddenly felt like I needed to cry, but I didn’t know why. And then I realized I was angry. I can’t remember ever being so angry.”

“What did I do to make you angry? Whatever it was, I won’t do it again. I promise.” Reita’s voice broke as he finished speaking and he had tears in his eyes now, which broke Ruki’s heart. Reita had always been so strong for Ruki. Seeing him cry was almost too much to bear. He took several deep breaths to get himself under control before he spoke again.

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“If I didn’t do anything wrong, why were you angry?”

“I guess… I was jealous.” Ruki didn’t want to admit what he had truly been feeling, but he couldn’t let Reita think he’d done something wrong.

“I didn’t know you like Kane. I won’t talk to her anymore. She’s all yours.”

“It’s not her. I don’t like her. I… I was jealous because you were paying attention to her, and I guess I wanted you to be paying attention to me. I think I would have been jealous seeing you behave that way with anyone. I guess I’m just selfish when it comes to you.” He sighed deeply, avoiding Reita’s eyes. “I never should have done that. I should set you free. I’m just as bad as those people with the flyers think.”

“You aren’t,” Reita replied earnestly. “I know you feel bad about it. And I don’t want you to set me free. Your father would figure it out and send me away immediately. You know he would, and I don’t want to leave. But you have to promise me you’ll never do anything like that ever again.”

“Of course I won’t! It’s completely unacceptable.” Ruki took Reita’s hand in his. “I don’t ever want to hurt you.”

“I believe you.” The boys fell asleep holding each other’s hands, tears drying on their cheeks.

* * *

Ruki sat fidgeting in the chair in front of his father’s desk, waiting for him to finish some work. He had been called to his father’s office early in the morning the next day. There was, of course, only one topic of conversation he could think of, and he was dreading the lecture he knew was coming.

“So,” his father began, finally looking up, “how is your hand?”

“Fine.”

“Doesn’t hurt too much?”

“Not anymore. The medicine man gave me some tea that helps.”

“Yes, I’ve been told. Well, Ruki, I must say I don’t approve of your behavior.” Ruki nodded, keeping his eyes downcast. “You’re welcome to punish your own servant in any way you please. But harming yourself in such a way… You could have lost your hand.”

Ruki froze. He had expected his father to be angrier that he’d hurt Reita. He had expected to be punished for that. But he was suddenly hit with the realization that his father didn’t care that he’d hurt Reita. He didn’t care about the other boy at all.

“The maid who witnessed it will be sent away, per her own request,” his father continued. “Normally, I wouldn’t entertain such a request, but I do happen to know someone who needs a new girl. She said she’s afraid of you, Ru.” Ruki looked up at his father, shame in his eyes. “It’s fine for servants to be afraid of you. In fact, they should be. But not to the point that they can’t continue their work. You need to work on controlling your temper. Ok?”

“Yes, sir,” Ruki said quietly.

“You’re dismissed,” his father said, waving a hand and continuing with his work.

“Thank you, sir,” Ruki said, getting up to leave. The thought that the servants were afraid of him disturbed him. But the thought of Reita being afraid of him was almost physically painful. He retired to his room, not wanting to see anyone else at the moment. About an hour later, Uruha came to his door.

“Ruki. I’ve brought you some of that tea.” He set the tea on the nightstand and pulled over the chair from Ruki’s desk. He sat down next to the bed and gently took Ruki’s hand in his, examining the bandage. “Does it hurt much?”

“Not too much right now,” Ruki replied. “But I should drink the tea before it starts hurting again. Thank you for bringing it to me.”

“I saw you leaving your father’s office. You didn’t look too happy. What did you talk about?”

“He said I should punish Reita in ways that don’t involve hurting myself. Of course, he didn’t care about Reita’s feelings at all. And he said Kane is leaving because she’s afraid of me.” Ruki looked down in shame. “Are the other servants afraid of me, too?”

“I won’t lie to you. A few of them have… expressed concern about your temper. It isn’t like you to act so impulsively.”

“Reita’s probably afraid of me, too, right?”

“Have you talked to him?”

“Yes. And I apologized. I promised I’d never do anything like that again.”

“Did you mean it?”

“Of course! I regretted hurting him instantly. I never want to do it again.” Uruha nodded solemnly and Ruki suddenly had a horrible thought. “You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”

“Don’t even think that,” Uruha replied with a kind smile. “I’ve known you your whole life and I know what kind of man you’re becoming. I could never be afraid of you.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “I was a bit… disappointed. Reita is your best friend. I didn’t think you would ever intentionally hurt him like that. But after I saw how bad you felt about it, I knew that was the only time you’d ever do something like that. I’m sure Reita will understand that, too.” Ruki leaned over and hugged the butler.

“Thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for.” Uruha stood and headed for the door. “Drink your tea. And don’t push yourself too much. You need plenty of rest.”

* * *

Despite their reconciliation, a tension remained between the boys for a few weeks. They were each overly polite to the other, no longer joking or playing as they had the whole time they’d known each other. During their next visit with Aoi, he could tell something in their relationship had been strained.

“What’s going on with you two?” Ruki and Aoi were sitting in the shade of a tree in the yard of Aoi’s family’s manor, drinking lemonade. Their servants were sitting nearby, discussing the progress of Kai’s reading lessons and a book Reita wanted to lend him.

Ruki looked down at his hand. It was no longer bandaged, but it was still not completely healed. He still had to drink the pain-killing tea frequently, more to keep Reita from feeling any discomfort than himself. He clenched his hand, watching as the skin around the wound cracked.

“I know he’s only been with you for a little while, but… have you ever thought about hurting yourself to punish Kai?” He didn’t look at Aoi as he asked the question, keeping his attention on his injured hand.

“No,” Aoi replied flatly. “Why would I do that?”

“One day, if you get very mad at him about something, the thought might cross your mind. You might think he deserves it. But it isn’t worth it. It isn’t worth betraying his trust.” He turned to face his friend, his expression so serious it almost scared Aoi. “Promise me you’ll never do such a thing.”

“I promise,” Aoi said sincerely. Ruki nodded and looked back down at his hand, and that was the first time Aoi noticed the injury. He didn’t ask Ruki what happened. He didn’t need details. He decided to try to lighten the mood instead. “Hey you dorks,” he called out to Reita and Kai. “It’s getting hot out here. Let’s go inside and get some food.”

The boys went into the house and headed straight for the kitchen. Aoi’s parents were out of town, as they often were, so the servants there turned a blind eye to the fact that they were making themselves a lunch consisting mostly of sweets. They ate in Aoi’s room, sitting on the floor and stuffing themselves. They talked happily for several more hours, with Aoi and Kai trying extra hard to keep the mood light, until a maid came to inform them that Ruki’s carriage had arrived.

Reita and Ruki rode home in silence, ate dinner in silence, and went to bed with a few polite words. However, not long after they parted, Reita knocked on Ruki’s door and let himself in.

“Kai could tell something was off between us,” he said, sitting next to Ruki on the bed.

“Aoi could, too.”

“We need to do something about this.” Reita sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. “You’ve apologized, and I’ve forgiven you. That should be enough. But we’re still walking on egg shells around each other.”

“I suppose,” Ruki began, fidgeting with the edge of his blanket, “I haven’t forgiven myself. I want us to go back to being friends, but I’m afraid of doing anything that might… scare you.”

“Scare me?”

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I promised I’d never intentionally hurt you again, and I meant it. But I don’t know how to make sure you believe me. I don’t know how I can regain your trust. I don’t want you thinking you’ll be punished if you slip up.”

“I do believe that you won’t hurt me. I’m not afraid of you. That isn’t why I’ve been acting different around you.” Reita sighed. “I guess it’s because I’m afraid you’re still mad at me. I don’t want to do anything to make you mad. Not because I’m afraid of being punished. Because I’m afraid of hurting you.”

“I’m not mad at you. I’m sorry I made you think I was.”

“How about you stop being afraid that you’ll hurt me,” Reita said, taking Ruki’s hand in his, “and I will, too.”

“That sounds good,” Ruki replied, squeezing Reita’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously considered adding a "self-harm" warning at the beginning of this chapter. I ultimately decided not to because it wasn't actually Ruki's intention to hurt himself. However, if anyone thinks I should add that warning in, let me know and I will.


	5. The Imperial Ball

“Reita,” Ruki called, pounding on the wall between their rooms. “Reita! Can you come in here?”

“Right away, Master!” Only moments later, Reita walked through the door, still in his night clothes. Ruki held up a velvet jacket in each hand and caught Reita’s eye in the mirror he was facing, silently asking for Reita’s opinion. “That’s why you called me in here?” Ruki nodded and Reita sighed. “I thought you already made this decision days ago.”

“I might have changed my mind. I need a second opinion.”

“The red one.”

“Thanks! I thought so, too. I have to look my best at this ball tonight. You’re so lucky you can just wear a plain black suit.” He looked over at Reita and his face instantly turned beet red. Reita scowled in confusion, then noticed that Ruki was looking at the very pronounced tent in the front of his pants. He quickly covered his crotch with both hands.

“Sorry. I just woke up and you called me in here before I had a chance to… take care of it.” Reita’s cheeks were turning red as well and he didn’t wait for Ruki to reply before quickly leaving the room. 

Ruki laughed and began picking what accessories he would wear with his outfit. He really didn’t need to be getting ready so early, but he was too excited to rest. Every year, the emperor threw a ball for his richest subjects, but only those over 18 years old were invited. Ruki had turned 18 only two weeks before and was thrilled when he received his invitation the next day. He had to laugh, figuring his father had arranged the timing with the footmen who delivered the invitations. 

The day dragged due to Ruki’s excitement. But when the time finally came for them to leave, he found he was suddenly nervous. He checked his outfit and hair at least twenty times. He had even put on a bit of makeup for the occasion, and he continuously checked to make sure it was perfect. He also wouldn’t stop making sure Reita’s clothes and hair were perfect, much to Reita’s annoyance. He understood, though. This was an important night for his master, and he needed to make a good impression. Even during the carriage ride to the imperial palace, Ruki continued to fidget with his jacket.

“Master, you look wonderful,” Reita said, placing one of his hands on Ruki’s to stop it from moving. Ruki took a deep breath and gave Reita a grateful smile. 

When they finally arrived at the palace, Ruki and Reita noticed a large group of people standing outside the gates and yelling. They were shouting at the guards, as well as at the occupants of any carriages that passed by them. Ruki couldn’t hear much over the cacophony, but he could make out the phrases “Free your slaves” and “Connected are being tortured”. He looked over at Reita, who gave him a small smile.

“I wish something could be done about this rabble,” Ruki’s father said. “If their numbers grow any more, soon it will be too late. The emperor will have to listen to their ridiculous complaints.” Neither of the younger men said anything, and they soon arrived at the front door. Ruki’s father led the way, with Ruki right behind him and Reita following at a respectful distance.

When they walked through the door, Ruki was immediately overwhelmed. He had never seen anything so lavish. Even as wealthy as his family was, they had never had parties like this one. The grand ballroom itself was at least five times the size of their own. Every wall was lined with tables of food and drinks, and waiters weaved through the crowd with trays of champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Dozens of chandeliers glittered from the ceiling. And there were gold decorations everywhere he looked.

“Pick your chin up, Ruki,” his father said. “People will think you’re a peasant.” He spotted someone he knew nearby and went to greet them, leaving Ruki and Reita to make their own way. They weren’t alone for long, though.

“Ruki, darling!” The exclamation came from a small but boisterous woman making her way towards them. Ruki recognized her as Misaki, the wife of one of his father’s closest business associates. She was a bit loud for Ruki’s taste, but she had always been kind to him, so he greeted her with a warm smile. “My boy, it’s so lovely to see you! It’s your first time here, isn’t it? Well, let me show you around.” The woman took Ruki by the arm and began leading him through the crowd, turning to encourage Reita to follow them.

Ruki was relieved that she had taken them under her wing. He recognized several people in the crowd, mainly people he had met at parties or dinners his father had made him attend. However, he didn’t think he felt comfortable approaching any of them to start a conversation in such strange surroundings. His guide, on the other hand, had no such qualms and she took him to say hello to almost everyone she knew, introducing him to several important people he had never met.

“Knowing the right people is everything,” she said to him conspiratorially. “If any of these people would benefit you, professionally, just let me know and I’ll arrange for you to meet for tea or a meal. You’ll need as many allies as you can manage when you take over for Ryo.”

“I greatly appreciate your assistance, madam,” Ruki replied. “Though, I’m sure my father will maintain control of everything for a good deal longer.”

“It’s never too early to start,” Misaki chided. She continued leading him through the crowd and Ruki began to relax more and more. At one point, he spotted Aoi, with Kai standing nearby, but couldn’t get his attention because he was surrounded by a swarm of young women. He was giving his most charming smile, and Ruki felt a stab of envy at how easy Aoi made it look. He could easily have a friendly conversation with rich men and their wives. But he was usually too shy to talk to anyone his own age, with the exception of the few friends he’d known most of his life. He didn’t have Aoi’s cool charm, or Reita’s effortless swagger, or even Kai’s adorable bashfulness that had won him the attention of many young men and women in recent years.

Reita and Ruki spent the next several hours socializing, eating until they thought they would pop, and drinking perhaps a bit too much. Ruki made several important business contacts and, true to her word, Misaki had arranged enough social meetings for him to fill his weekends for the next few months. He had even been presented to the emperor, who’s friendly smile and cheeks tinged pink from wine did nothing to decrease how intimidating his sheer size made him. There was only one tradition Ruki had yet to participate in.

“You have not stepped foot on the dancefloor,” Misaki scolded him. “You must be seen dancing at least once tonight.”

“I know. I just… don’t know who I would dance with.”

“No luck with the ladies?” Misaki gave him a sympathetic look. “That’s quite all right. Dance with one of your male friends.” Ruki gave her a shocked look and she laughed. “It’s quite common, my boy! Even if you don’t like men that way, it spares you the embarrassment of not having danced, and gives you the opportunity to show off your dancing skills to the women in the room. Oh, darling!” Misaki’s attention had been caught by someone else and she rushed off to greet them, leaving Ruki and Reita alone.

Ruki thought about what the woman had said. It did make sense. Everyone expected him to dance, and if he could do it without experiencing the inevitable rejection he would receive if he asked someone who wasn’t a friend to dance, all the better. He scanned the crowd, trying to find any of his friends who weren’t already dancing. Aoi had a pretty blonde clinging to him. None of his other friends appeared to be available. Then, he had an epiphany. Who was always his partner during dance lessons? Who did he know could dance well enough to allow Ruki to show off his own skills? Most of all, who was the one person in the room he couldn’t deny he actually wanted to dance with?

“Hey, Reita,” he said, nudging the young man next to him with his elbow. “Dance with me.”

“Yes, of course, Master,” Reita said without hesitation.

“That wasn’t an order,” Ruki said with a slight pout. Reita grinned, stepped in front of Ruki, bowed slightly, and extended his hand.

“Master, I would be delighted to dance with you.”

Ruki took the hand being offered to him and allowed Reita to lead him to the dance floor. They placed their hands on each other’s upper arms and began stepping and swaying to the music. Every time they had danced together before, it had been with an instructor monitoring them and correcting them. They had never danced together just to enjoy dancing. Ruki found it rather… nice. There was no awkwardness between them, no fear of embarrassing themselves. It felt completely natural.

Ruki found himself running his hands up and down Reita’s arms. He had, of course, noticed the changes that had taken place in the other’s body over the years. He was no longer a scrawny, underfed child. He was a tall, well-muscled man. It had been years since Ruki had crawled into Reita’s bed in the middle of the night. At that moment, he could think of nothing he wanted more than to lay peacefully wrapped in the other man’s arms. The realization made him blush a bit and he looked down, avoiding the other’s eyes.

“Thank you for agreeing to dance with me,” he said quietly.

“It’s my pleasure, Master. Though, I think if you had actually asked someone else, they would have said ‘yes’.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You are so dumb sometimes,” Reita replied with a laugh. “Don’t you know how stunning you are?”

“What… I… no.”

“You are,” Reita said, laughing again. “I don’t even understand how you do it. Sometimes, you’re the world’s most adorable dork and I just want to hug you. Other times, you’re insanely sexy without even trying. I don’t know how you couldn’t realize that. Anyone would want to be with you, Master.”

Ruki’s blush deepened and he was relieved when the song ended and they made their way back to the edge of the dancefloor. Ruki’s father was there to greet them, and he didn’t look happy.

“It’s time for us to leave,” he said, grabbing Ruki by the elbow and all but dragging him toward the front door. Ruki and Reita followed as quickly as they could, waving and calling out “Thank you” as they passed Misaki. She waved back feebly, a concerned look on her face. 

His father didn’t say a word as he marched them out of the building and toward their carriage. However, as soon as they were safely seated, before the horses had even started moving, he reached forward and slapped Ruki across the face.

“How dare you embarrass me like that?”

“Father, I – “

“Quiet!” His face was red with anger. “Dancing with a servant,” he hissed. “Do you have no sense of propriety?” He shook his head, barely looking at Ruki in his anger. Neither of the younger men dared say a word. “I’ve never been so humiliated. It’s clear to me now that I’ve been far too lenient with the both of you.” He pointed at Reita, but glared at Ruki. “He is not your friend! He is a servant! And from now on, you will treat him as such. He will do the work of a servant, he will eat with the servants, and he will not be given any special treatment. Do I make myself clear?”

“What if I say no?” Ruki asked, setting his jaw despite the fear he actually felt. “Reita is mine, he is my Connected, and I will treat him as I please.”

“You insolent brat.” Ruki backed up into his seat, afraid his father would slap him again. “You’re right, he is your Connected. And I paid for him. And I am still the head of this family. If the two of you refuse to behave in the proper manner of master and servant, I will send you to work in one of our offices on the other side of the empire. But Reita will stay with me.” Reita’s eyes widened in fear. The older man noticed and laughed without humor. “That’s right. You’ll be separated. Neither of you have ever seen what happens to a Connected when they’re separated from their master, but I have. Those protesters aren’t wrong; it is torture. I’ve seen men reduced to whimpering masses, unable to even move from the emotional torment. I’ve even seen a girl kill herself after being separated from her master for only a week.”

“I’ll set him free,” Ruki said, his voice quivering.

“If you do that, I’ll kill him. Don’t think I won’t. Even if he runs away, you know I can find him.”

Ruki was speechless. He didn’t doubt for a moment that his father would kill Reita without hesitation. He’d known for years that the man barely saw his servants as human. He gave a small nod, not meeting his father’s eyes.

“We’ll behave properly,” he said quietly.

“At all times. Not just while I’m around. All of the other servants will be instructed to report to me if they see any… inappropriate behavior.”

“Yes, sir.” Ruki felt like crying. He felt like reaching out and grabbing Reita’s hand. But he couldn’t do anything except agree to whatever his father said.

* * *

Ruki stood with his ear pressed against the door of his bedroom. He hadn’t heard any movement for several minutes, but he was still hesitant to leave the room. He didn’t think his father knew of all the times he’d snuck into Reita’s room in the middle of the night, but he wouldn’t put it past the old man to have someone guarding their doors.

He opened the door a crack and waited. When there was no sign that anyone had noticed, he opened the door a bit more and poked his head out. There was no one around. He snuck through the door, careful to make the least amount of noise possible. He was glad he had never bothered knocking on Reita’s door; he couldn’t risk any extra noise right now.

He quietly opened the door and tiptoed into Reita’s room. He approached the bed as quietly as possible, but Reita had clearly already been awake. He pulled the covers aside, making room for Ruki to lay down next to him. As soon as Ruki was in the bed, Reita wrapped his arms around him.

“What are we going to do, Master?”

“I don’t know. I guess… we’ll have to do as he says, for now.” He buried his face in Reita’s chest. “It’ll be miserable. But it’s better than the alternative.” He sighed as Reita rubbed his back. “I should have set you free as soon as you were old enough to get a job. You could have gone out on your own, made a life for yourself.”

“No,” Reita said sternly. “I don’t want to leave. I know I could take care of myself. But I wouldn’t want to be without you.”

“Why not?” Ruki asked, searching Reita’s eyes. Reita scowled a bit, then kissed Ruki on the forehead. He didn’t say anything, instead holding the smaller man closer. Ruki breathed Reita’s scent in deeply. “I don’t want to be without you either. Even if we have to act like we’re little more than strangers, at least we’ll still be together.”

Both of them knew there was more to be said. But neither of them felt much like talking. So, instead, they remained as they were for a few hours. Ruki crept back to his room just before dawn, realizing with some bitterness that he had gotten his wish from earlier that night.


	6. Lady Misaki's Tea Party

The following weekend, Ruki was preparing to leave for the first social engagement that Misaki had arranged for him. It was to be an afternoon tea at her home, where a businessman named Shinji would be joining them. He went looking for Reita and found him in the kitchen. He had a firm grasp on the frame over one of the doorways leading out to the garden, his feet off the ground, and he was repeatedly lifting himself up and down. A group of kitchen maids, along with a few of their male servants, were watching intently, and Ruki felt a twinge of jealousy. Uruha approached him with his nose crinkled up from a big smile.

“You know, it used to be me who received all that attention. I guess I’m getting old.”

“Nonsense,” Ruki replied. “You still have plenty of admirers. The ones who prefer poise over muscle.”

“I suppose that’s true,” the butler replied with a laugh. Ruki turned away from the spectacle and took a deep breath. Uruha gave him a concerned look. “How are you, Ruki?” he asked quietly.

“Have you spoken to my father?”

“Yes.” Uruha sighed and shook his head. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s fair. You’re an adult. You should be able to live as you please.”

“But that won’t happen while I live under his roof,” Ruki replied bitterly. “And I have no money of my own. He won’t let me have a home of my own unless I get married. Or he dies.” Uruha gave Ruki a small squeeze on his shoulder and continued with his duties. Ruki looked back over at Reita to see him doing pushups with a kitchen maid sitting on his back, much to the delight of his admirers. “Come, Reita,” he said, breaking up the fun. “We’re leaving.” Reita hurried to follow him, keeping a slight distance for the sake of appearance. They were heading for the front door when they were stopped by his father.

“Where do you two think you’re going?”

“Lady Misaki has invited me for tea. I’m taking my servant with me.” Ruki held himself to his full height, trying to show a level of confidence he didn’t quite feel.

“No, your servant will stay here.”

“Lady Misaki’s home is too far away,” Ruki replied, keeping his voice steady. “You promised we wouldn’t be separated as long as we behaved properly. Which we have.” His father didn’t reply, instead glaring at Ruki steadily. “Send another servant with us, if you wish. We have nothing to hide. Why not Uruha?”

“Oh please. You think I haven’t noticed how he coddles you. You will take Kenta with you.” Kenta was a footman who Ruki had always considered a brown-noser, eternally trying to gain favor with Ruki’s father. Ruki had no doubt that the man would report every word said during the outing.

“Wonderful,” Ruki said. “But we need to be leaving soon or we’ll be late.”

“Yes, of course,” his father sneered. “You wouldn’t want to keep Lady Misaki waiting.” He noticed Reita looking away and took the opportunity to pinch Ruki’s arm hard. He grinned when Reita jumped and grasped the same spot on his own arm. “Just checking,” he said to a scowling Ruki. He escorted Ruki and Reita out the door, spotting Kenta outside and informing him that he would be going with them. Kenta, as expected, readily agreed. There were no further instructions, and Ruki figured all of the servants had already been told what would be expected of them if they were alone with the two young men.

The ride to Misaki’s home passed in complete silence. Ruki and Reita couldn’t even risk looking at each other, knowing the other man was watching them like a hawk. Ruki hadn’t returned to Reita’s room since the night of the ball, not wanting to risk getting caught, so he hadn’t said anything to his friend in days that wasn’t an order. He had been hoping that his father would have relaxed a little and the two of them would have been able to take this trip together. He was disappointed, but not overly surprised, that things hadn’t worked out that way.

“Welcome, my boy!” Misaki greeted Ruki with a big hug when they finally arrived. “I’m afraid our other guest hasn’t arrived yet. But all the better. There are always last-minute preparations that need to be taken care of. Speaking of which, do you think your servants could assist in the kitchen?”

“Of course,” Ruki replied, waving the two servants to follow Misaki’s butler.

“A spy for your father?” she asked the moment they were alone.

“Is it that obvious?”

“There’s really no other reason for you to bring two servants. Everyone could tell Ryo wasn’t pleased,” she said with a small chuckle. “I half expected you to cancel today.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting to still be welcome. Is Mr. Shinji truly late, or is he not coming?”

“Oh, my dear boy, of course he’s coming.” She took Ruki by the hand and led him to sit next to her on a sofa. “I asked him to come a little late so I could have some time to talk to you alone. I wanted to assure you that we don’t all feel the same as your father. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I thought… After seeing my father’s reaction, I thought maybe I’d undone all of the good from that evening. You worked so hard to make those business connections for me. I didn’t think any of them would want to meet with me after seeing my improper behavior.”

“Quite the opposite,” Misaki said, laughing mirthfully. “Not only have I not received any cancelations, I’ve had a fair few contact me to confirm the details of their meeting with you so they can be sure not to miss it!” She patted Ruki’s hand and gave him a sympathetic look. “Your father doesn’t understand. He sees Reita as nothing more than property. He can’t see what the rest of us can: how much the two of you care for each other.”

Before Ruki could respond, a servant entered the room to announce that the other guest had arrived. They moved to the parlor, where they were met by Shinji, a tall man with sharp features. Ruki thought he looked like the kind of man who never personally got his hands dirty, but could definitely make sure you paid if you crossed him. They all took seats at the table and Misaki dismissed all of the servants, preferring to serve tea herself.

“Well, isn’t this nice?” she asked with a big smile. “I believe the ball was the first time the two of you met, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Ruki replied. “I was familiar with your reputation, of course.”

“We would have met earlier, but I’ve never done business with your father, as you know.” Shinji smirked as he continued. “He’s been trying to get a meeting with me for years.”

“Well, he’s never had someone as charming as our hostess making arrangements for him,” Ruki said, raising his cup to Misaki.

“It wasn’t entirely Lady Misaki’s efforts that got you this meeting. I’ve heard quite a bit about what a bright young man you are. And, I must say, I was impressed by your manner at the ball.”

“You were?”

“Yes.” Shinji grinned. “Very impressed indeed. I’m not sure if you noticed, but every time Lady Misaki introduced you to someone, you made sure to introduce that person to your servant, Reita, as well. Why is that?”

“Honestly, I hadn’t noticed that I’d done that.” Ruki thought for a moment before continuing. “I suppose it’s because Reita is my friend. It doesn’t sit right with me to have a conversation in front of him without him being involved at all. To treat him like he isn’t present.”

“That is exactly what impressed me. Your father is of the old school of thinking that says servants aren’t people. He would allow a servant to stand by completely ignored, like a piece of furniture. That shows what kind of man he is, and that isn’t the kind of man I want to do business with. You are the future. You care about people, even at the expense of your own reputation. I could do business with you.”

“I must say, I’m surprised to hear that, Mr. Shinji. I was under the impression that most people held the same views as my father. He’s so well thought of.”

“Well, my dear,” Misaki began, exchanging a conspiratorial glance with Shinji, “He isn’t as well thought of as he would have you believe. I’m afraid we haven’t been completely honest with you. Several of the people I introduced you to at the ball knew that I’d be making arrangements for meetings like these.”

“Our business needs new blood,” Shinji said. “Ryo is still fairly young and healthy. It will be decades before you inherit the business through the natural course of things. And he’s the type that will keep every aspect of the business in his full control until he’s incapable of doing so any longer. We think it would be better if you, and other young people with the same views on the world – perhaps your friend Aoi – began taking steps on your own. We want to help you there.”

“So,” Ruki began, thinking through what they had said, “these aren’t social engagements. They’re business meetings. So that I can get started in the business world. At the expense of my father.” The other two nodded. Ruki grinned widely. “It seems these afternoon teas will be more interesting than I suspected. Perhaps I’ll invite Aoi to the next one.”

* * *

Ruki couldn’t hold back his grin the whole way home. Kenta was staring at him suspiciously, but he didn’t care. He was even bold enough to catch Reita’s eye and give him a broad smile, which only left Reita with a confused scowl.

The moment they arrived back at the manor, Kenta rushed off, no doubt to report everything that had happened. Even with him out of the way, Ruki and Reita were still surrounded by servants going about their daily tasks. Ruki knew it would still be a while before he could tell his friend the good news. Instead, he busied himself with writing a note to be sent to Aoi, letting him know that Lady Misaki would like him to join them for tea in two days. He would spend the time during those two days developing the code they would use to communicate during their meetings. Even if Misaki sent servants out of the room every time, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t be overheard. They couldn’t afford to have the real topic of their conversations reported to Ruki’s father.

Ruki and his father had dinner together that night. They had barely spoken to each other since the night of the ball, so most of their meals were spent in silence. However, Ruki wasn’t surprised that his father wanted to chat on this particular night.

“How was your tea at Lady Misaki’s house?”

“It was lovely,” Ruki replied. “She is a terribly gracious hostess.”

“She is indeed. And Kenta tells me Shinji was there as well.”

“He was.” Ruki tried not to smirk. “He’s a very pleasant man.”

“So I’ve been told. What did you talk about?”

“Tea.”

“Tea?”

“Yes,” Ruki replied, sticking to the cover story they had worked on. “He has a great appreciation for different kinds of tea. I told Lady Misaki during the ball that I didn’t know much about the subject, so she invited him to further my education. It’s very interesting. We’re going to be meeting again so I can learn more.”

“Is that right?” Ruki watched unconcerned as his father frowned. He knew his father was aware of Shinji’s reputation as a tea connoisseur. It didn’t matter that Ruki actually knew a great deal about the subject. His father wouldn’t know that. He had never paid much attention to Ruki’s interests. “And did either of them say anything about your… indiscretion?”

“Lady Misaki expressed her disappointment at my poor judgment. Mr. Shinji was too much of a gentleman to mention it, but I made sure to apologize.”

“That’s good. You’re lucky they both agreed to keep the engagement.” He paused and looked at Ruki with a much softer expression than he had used in years. “I am pleased your behavior doesn’t seem to have hurt your social standing. This could have seriously damaged your chances of finding a good wife. I was worried… that you would end up unhappy. That’s the last thing I want.”

“You don’t want me to be unhappy?” Ruki pushed his chair away from the table. “Do you think keeping me from my best friend makes me happy?” He stood up before his father could reply. “Excuse me. I’ve lost my appetite.”

Ruki went to his room and got to work. A couple hours later he heard footsteps indicating that Reita was returning to his own room. This time, however, there were two sets of footsteps, and Ruki distinctly heard his father’s voice.

“…can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner. But we can put a stop to that.” Ruki opened his door and saw his father standing in the hallway with Reita. “Ah, Ruki, just in time. I was just telling your servant that I’ve realized no one is watching you while you’re in your rooms at night. You could be doing who knows what together. So, from now on, his bedroom door will be locked for the night, every night. If I’m here, I’ll take care of it. When I’m not here, Kenta will have the responsibility.”

“Whatever you say,” Ruki said, rolling his eyes and returning to his room. As soon as his door was closed, he took a deep breath, fighting the urge to cry. He had been looking forward to sneaking into Reita’s room that night, to seeing his friend smile as he told him the plan, and to feeling those strong arms wrapped around him during the few hours they could spend together. In his imagination, he had even thought one of them might kiss the other in their joy. All of that happiness had suddenly been snatched from him, and he tried to remind himself that he was already taking steps to fix this situation.

Ruki laid in his bed, as close to the wall separating his room from Reita’s as he could get. He listened closely for the sounds of his father leaving. He heard the key click loudly in the lock and his father’s footsteps. The steps paused outside Ruki’s bedroom door for a moment, then continued down the hall. Ruki listened silently until the sound of his father’s footsteps faded completely.

“Reita,” Ruki called through the wall, trying not to be too loud. “Reita, can you hear me?”

He heard scraping and cursing, followed by a bump on the wall. He realized Reita had just moved his own bed so that it was also pressed against the wall. Ruki could picture Reita climbing into the bed and laying right next to the wall, just as he was. If the wall wasn’t there, they would be lying face-to-face next to each other.

“I can hear you, Master,” Reita said quietly, just barely loud enough for Ruki to hear. “How long do you think things are going to stay like this?”

“Knowing my father, he’s never going to let this go,” Ruki replied with a sigh.

“So, we’re never going to have any time alone together again?” Ruki was glad he couldn’t see Reita’s face. He had a feeling his expression would be heart-breaking.

“No, Reita, listen. That’s what I’ve been wanting to tell you all evening. I have a plan. It’s going to take a while, maybe even years. But it’s going to work. And when it does, we’ll both be free.”

“What’s your plan?”

“It was Lady Misaki’s idea. It’s best that I don’t tell you too much about it. You need to be believable when you say you don’t know anything about it.”

“Master, I…” Reita didn’t continue and Ruki thought he could hear sniffing.

“Yes?”

“I’m happy you have a plan. I just hope it doesn’t take too long.”

“I hope so, too.” Ruki placed his hand on the wall, imagining Reita was doing the same on the other side. “We just have to stay strong and have hope.”


	7. The Plan Fulfilled

It took almost two years before Ruki’s plan was complete. Two years of meetings disguised as tea parties. Two years of meals spent in bitter silence as Ruki and his father both refused to drop their grudge. Worst of all, it was two years during which Reita and Ruki could never have a private moment together and could only speak to each other through the wall that separated their rooms, which they didn’t do often for fear of being caught. But the moment had finally arrived when Ruki could put an end to all of that.

Ruki walked into his father’s office and dropped a bag of gold coins on his desk. He sat across from his father, a cocky smirk on his face.

“I don’t have time for you right now, Ruki. I’m terribly busy.”

“What’s wrong, Father? Lose another client?”

“That’s none of your business,” his father replied, glaring at him. As he looked up, he finally noticed the bag of gold. “What’s this?”

“It’s what you paid for Reita, plus a rough estimate of room and board for the past thirteen years,” Ruki replied calmly.

“I don’t understand.”

“I’m buying him from you. Then he will truly be mine and you will have no say in my affairs.”

“You’re buying him?” His father laughed. “And where did this money come from? You’ve been saving up your allowance? Do you really think I’ll allow you to buy your servant with money I gave you?”

“Oh, no. I earned this money. In my business dealings.” Ruki’s smirk grew wider at his father’s confused scowl. “That company that’s been stealing all of your clients. What was their name?”

“I’ve heard they’re called The A and R Group.”

“And you never did think to find out what that stood for. It wouldn’t have been difficult if you’d just put in a little effort.” Ruki paused to give his father a moment to consider what he was saying.

“You don’t mean…”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. A and R. Aoi and Ruki. We’ve been taking business from you for years and you never even thought to suspect us.” His father’s face was turning progressively more red. In the past, Ruki would have been afraid of his father’s temper. But nothing was going to spoil his good mood today.

“Listen here, you little…” He took a deep breath to calm himself before he continued. “I will not stand for this. As long as you live under my roof –“  
  


“That’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about,” Ruki interrupted. “Reita and I are moving out. Today. I have servants moving our possessions into my carriage as we speak.”

“Moving? Where?”

“Aoi found us a small house in the city. Only a few blocks from his own.”

“How could you do this to me? How could you go behind my back and steal business from me?”

“I didn’t do it _to_ you, Father. It was time for me to go out on my own. Several people expressed a desire to do business with me instead of you. I took the opportunity.”

His father was silent for a few minutes and Ruki let him take his time. Finally, he let out a small chuckle.

“Well, this is certainly unexpected. I guess I underestimated you.” He looked at his son with a surprisingly fond expression. “You aren’t a child anymore. I suppose I need to stop treating you like one.” He stood and held out his hand. Ruki stood as well and took the extended hand, shaking it firmly. “But I don’t want you thinking for a moment that I’m going to roll over and let you take all of my clients. I’m still going to fight you.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Ruki replied with a smile.

“I also hope you don’t think you’re still going to inherit anything from me.” His father’s smile had become more strained and he squeezed Ruki’s hand a bit too hard. “As much as I understand what you’ve done, it is still an unforgivable betrayal. You are no longer welcome here.”

“I expected that as well.” Ruki separated their hands and gave his father one last, small smile. “Goodbye, Father.”

Ruki left the office and made his way to the front entrance, where he found a very confused looking Reita.

“Master, they’re taking all of our things.”

“It’s all right, Reita. I told them to.”

“Why?”

“You’ll see,” Ruki replied with a sly smile.

“So, you finally told him?” Uruha approached with a smile.

“Told him what?” Ruki replied with a laugh. “Don’t tell me you’ve known all along.”

“Of course I have. You can’t keep secrets from me, little boy.” Uruha pulled Ruki into a tight hug. “I’m proud of you. And I’m going to miss you.” 

“You’re always welcome to visit.” Ruki replied. “In fact, if you ever feel like leaving this place…” He let his sentence trail off, knowing Uruha would understand the unspoken invitation.

“I’ll keep that in mind. I might even take you up on it soon.” Uruha pulled away from the hug and Ruki thought he could see tears in the corners of the man’s eyes. Uruha turned to Reita and extended his hand. “Reita, I must say I’m proud of you, too. Take care of him.”

“I will,” Reita replied, shaking his hand, though he was still confused.

They got in the carriage and rode away from the manor toward the city. Reita asked where they were going, but Ruki refused to tell him anything. When they arrived at their destination, they both helped unload everything from the carriage. Once they were alone, Ruki toured the small house, with Reita trailing after him. Aoi had arranged for furniture to be delivered earlier that day, so there were beds in each bedroom, a table in the dining room, and two sofas in the living room. It was much smaller, and much less opulent, than what they were used to, but Ruki thought it was perfect.

“Welcome home,” he declared as they ended their tour in the living room, spreading his arms out to take in the surroundings.

“This- this is our home?” Reita asked in disbelief. Ruki nodded with a big grin and Reita swept him up in a big hug. “I can’t believe it!” Ruki laughed and wrapped his arms around Reita’s neck.

“I’ve missed this,” he sighed as he laid his head on Reita’s shoulder.

“So have I,” Reita replied, squeezing him tighter. They stood holding each other in silence, neither wanting to let go. After a while, Ruki tilted his head up to look at Reita’s face. There was a small smile playing on the taller man’s lips and Ruki thought he had never been happier. 

“Rei, can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask whatever you want, Master.”

“You’ve always had girls throwing themselves at you. I mean, I think the kitchen maids were pretty fiercely competing for your attention.” Ruki looked down, avoiding Reita’s gaze. “Did you ever… I mean, were you ever… with any of them?”

“No,” Reita replied softly. Ruki looked up at him and he smiled. “Nothing more than kisses. I was tempted, but it never felt right. I never really wanted to be with any of them. I… wanted to be with someone else.” He paused, as if unsure what to say next. “What about you?” he asked when he finally continued. “I’ve noticed you’ve been more comfortable with other people in the last few years. And I’ve definitely seen you flirting at parties. Have you been with someone?”

“No. I had opportunities. But I never took them far. I wanted to be with someone else, too.” Ruki’s eyes landed on Reita’s lips and he couldn’t stop himself anymore. He lifted himself up a bit on his toes and pressed his lips against the taller man’s. Reita bent his head down a bit so Ruki wouldn’t have to be up on his toes and returned the kiss. He rubbed his hands up and down Ruki’s back and they both closed their eyes, deepening the kiss. Ruki parted his lips slightly, letting Reita slip his tongue into his mouth. 

Ruki thought he could stand like this for hours. He had imagined kissing Reita for years, and now that he finally could, it was better than he’d dared to believe. His lips were incredibly soft and the kiss was gentle, unrushed. Ruki wanted to keep it that way, but he couldn’t stop himself from kissing more hungrily. He had wanted this for so long, he couldn’t hold himself back now that it was happening.

Reita matched Ruki’s intensity and picked the smaller man up, wrapping Ruki’s legs around his waist. He moved to the side of the room, pressing Ruki’s back up against the wall and grinding their hips together. Ruki let out a moan, breaking the kiss to throw his head back. Reita took the opportunity to begin kissing Ruki’s exposed neck. Ruki grabbed the back of Reita’s head, breathing heavily.

“Reita, I want…” He couldn’t finish the sentence; his mind was too clouded with lust.

“Yes, Master,” Reita replied between kisses. “What do you want? Tell me. I’ll do anything for you.”

Ruki’s eyes flew open. He pushed Reita away and lowered his feet to the ground. Reita tried to pull closer, to start kissing him again, but Ruki pushed him away once more.

“Stop. We can’t do this.” He was panting and trying not to look at Reita.

“But, Master – “

“No. It’s wrong. I’m sorry.”

Ruki left the room, leaving Reita standing alone in confusion.

* * *

Aoi and Kai came by early the next morning to help them finish setting up and bring some breakfast.

“One of you is going to need to learn how to cook,” Aoi said, pouring tea for each of them. “You’ve never lived alone. We don’t want you to starve to death.”

“Who cooks in your house?” Ruki asked.

“Kai does.”

“I love cooking,” Kai said with a smile. “I’d be happy to teach you.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Ruki replied. He passed a cup of tea and a roll to Reita. “Would you like some butter?”

“No, thank you, Master,” Reita mumbled. He took the roll and tea and went to get to work in another room.

“Brrrr,” Aoi said, imitating a shiver. “What’s going on there?”

“He’s mad at me. And he should be.” Ruki buried his head in his hands and sighed. Aoi and Kai exchanged a concerned look and Kai quickly finished his food.

“I think I’ll go help Reita,” he said as he left the dining room.

“What happened?” Aoi asked as soon as Kai was gone.

“I kissed him,” Ruki said, not looking up.

“Is that all?”

“Well, no. It was a more than a kiss.”

“Finally! Give me details,” Aoi said excitedly. “I want to hear all about it.”

“It’s not like that,” Ruki said with an exasperated sigh. “We didn’t sleep together or anything. We probably would have, but… I stopped him.”

“No wonder he’s mad. Why did you stop him?”

“He told me he’d do whatever I want.”

“And?”

“It’s wrong. Don’t you think?”

“Why would that be wrong?”

“Because of the nature of our relationship. He’s my servant. I’m his master. Over the last couple of years, since we weren’t allowed to be anything other than master and servant, that’s basically all our relationship has been. How do I know if he’s doing something because he wants to, or because he’s just doing what I tell him to do?”

“Talk to him,” Aoi said softly. “You’d be amazed how many problems can be solved just by talking.” He leaned in closer to Ruki and took on a conspiratorial tone. “Look, I’m going to tell you something, and you have to keep it a secret. I’m being serious here. If this gets back to my parents, I’ll know it was you and I’ll skin you alive.” Ruki nodded seriously, so Aoi continued. “Kai and I have been in a romantic relationship for the past three years.”

“Are you serious?” Aoi nodded solemnly. “But… you’re always surrounded by beautiful women.”

“That’s just a show for my parents. Could you imagine how they would react if they knew I was in love with a servant? But here’s the point. When we first started exploring our feelings for each other, I had the same reservations you have now. I was afraid Kai was only with me because he was doing what I wanted him to. Because he was being a good servant and obeying his master. So, we sat down together and had a conversation. I told him about my fears and he reassured me that he was with me because it’s what he wants. We agreed that we are master and servant in name only. He never does anything I tell him to if he doesn’t want to. Believe me, I’ve tried. He can actually be very stubborn. In fact, now that we don’t live with my parents anymore, he occasionally bosses me around. I have no doubts that our relationship has nothing to do with the fact that he’s my servant.”

“But what about the Connected thing?”

“What about it?”

“They have to stay with us. Even if they don’t want to. If they can’t leave, wouldn’t they do anything to make us happy just to make their lives easy? I’m sure you’ve never punished Kai, but I’ve punished Reita. Is it really so unbelievable that he would pretend to want to be with me to keep me happy? Because he would be afraid of me making his life miserable if he didn’t?”

“I suppose it’s possible,” Aoi said with a frown. “But I don’t think it’s the case. I’ve seen Reita with you. I can see that he has real feelings for you. And, besides, we all know that time you hurt him was a one-time thing. It was seven years ago, and you’ve never done anything even close to that since then. He knows you wouldn’t hurt him again. He isn’t afraid of you.” 

“I guess… I’ve never really fully forgiven myself. It’s hard for me to believe he has.” They both sat in silence, drinking their tea as Ruki thought things through.

Once they finished their breakfast, they started setting up the kitchen and dining room. Time passed quickly and they had barely finished when it was time to stop for lunch. They called out to Kai and Reita, but got no response. They searched the other rooms, but it was soon apparent that they were alone in the house.

* * *

Reita and Kai had finished unpacking books quickly. It helped that they didn’t waste time chatting. Once they finished, Reita said he needed some fresh air and they went outside to sit on the front step. The street the house was on was often busy, but there was only a group of five or six men talking nearby.

“So,” Kai began, “what’s going on with you and Ruki?”

“I don’t know,” Reita replied with a deep sigh. “We’ve spent so much time apart over the last couple of years. Things are a little strange between us. But we were so happy to have moved here and to finally have time together again. And he kissed me. And it was everything I’ve ever hoped for. I thought… I thought that we were going to take it further, but he stopped me. He said it was wrong. I don’t understand why he would say that.”

“That’s why you’re angry with him? Because he stopped you?”

“I’m not angry with him.”

“He thinks you are.”

“I’m just… frustrated. I’ve been thinking of sleeping with him basically since I learned sex was a thing. He’s the only one I’ve ever wanted. And I thought he wanted the same thing. When we were kissing, he was so passionate. So, why would he say it’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. You know how he is. He always thinks about things too much.” Kai frowned thoughtfully. “You know, my master and I have been… well, we’re in love.”

“I didn’t know that. That’s wonderful!”

“It is. He’s amazing. But it has me thinking. If both of us have feelings for our masters, maybe it has something to do with the connection. Maybe there are things about being a Connected that we weren’t told.” He took a deep breath to steady himself, clearly upset about the implications of this line of thinking. “Do you think maybe that’s why we have these feelings?”

“No,” Reita said with absolute certainty. “I’ve met plenty of other Connecteds, but none of them have these feelings for their masters. Most of them only view their masters as masters, nothing more. Some flat out hate their masters, and their masters appear to hate them. I don’t think this has anything to do with the connection. I think we just got lucky to get masters like these.” He slung his arm around Kai’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. “Come on. Let’s go back inside and finish unpacking. Maybe you can help me figure out a way to make sure my master knows I’m not angry.”

As soon as they stood up, Reita’s vision was suddenly obscured and he could feel something cloth on his head. He heard Kai cry out and he tried to fight against the hands that suddenly grabbed him. Before he could fight much, there was a sharp pain in his head and the world went dark.


	8. Separated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dark. I hate to do it to the boys, but I had to.
> 
> Also, Ruki's still a big dummy.

Reita woke up to the sound of sobbing. He could tell the noise was coming from nearby, but his head was throbbing and he was having trouble opening his eyes.

“Master, is that you?” Reita tried to get up, but he felt a sudden clenching in his chest and a hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. It took him a moment to realize it wasn’t actually physical pain. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. “Master?”

“He isn’t here.” It was Kai’s voice, but there was something wrong. His voice was thick, his words strained. Reita suddenly realized it was Kai he had heard crying. “Neither of them is here,” Kai said with a whimper.

Reita moved up onto his hands and knees. The floor beneath him was cold and hard. He forced his eyes open through the pain and tried to take in his surroundings. The floor and three walls were made of stone. There was no fourth wall; in its place were iron bars. Reita briefly wondered if they had been arrested. There were two straw mattresses in the room that reminded him of the ones they’d slept on in the children’s home. The only light source was a torch burning outside the bars, and he couldn’t see much else. He realized he could hear other people crying, some were even screaming, but the sounds clearly weren’t coming from the same room.

He spotted Kai, curled up in the fetal position in a corner. He crawled towards his friend to check on him. Kai didn’t seem to be wounded, but he was sobbing uncontrollably. Reita could feel sobs building in his own chest, but he tried to keep himself together.

“Kai, where are we?” His voice cracked as he asked the question and he took a deep breath. The clenching in his chest got tighter, even breathing was painful, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold himself together for much longer.

“I don’t know,” Kai replied, his eyes shut tight as he cried. “I don’t know where my master is. I need my master.” Kai sobbed even harder and Reita couldn’t hold back his own tears any longer. He had heard that the sadness caused by separation from his master would be bad, but he had no idea it would feel like this. It was as if all of the happiness he’d ever felt had been removed from him and replaced by despair. His heart ached and he felt completely hopeless. He curled up into a ball and allowed his tears to flow freely.

“Oh, good. You’re awake.” Reita looked around to find the source of the voice and saw a tall man standing on the other side of the bars. He thought the man looked familiar and realized he had seen him handing out flyers on several occasions and protesting outside the imperial palace. “I’m sorry we had to give you that little knock on the head. You’re a big guy. We didn’t think we could get you here any other way.”

“Who are you?” Reita asked between gasping breaths.

“My name is Shiro. You can consider me a friend. I have devoted the last decade of my life to helping people like you.”

“You call this helping?”

“The distress you feel when you’re separated from your masters is… unfortunate. It’s so cruel. Perhaps if aristocrats don’t want their servants running away, they should treat them better rather than torture them like this if they do. But we are only days away from convincing the emperor to outlaw the practice of having a Connected. Your masters will be forced to set you free and your pain will be at an end.”

“Why did you even take us?” Reita asked through clenched teeth, trying to get himself under control. “How did you know we’re Connecteds?”

“It was completely a happy coincidence. My companions and I heard you talking on the street. We didn’t hear everything, but you said something about meeting other Connecteds and having masters. Ah, here we are,” Shiro said as another man approached. The other man handed Shiro a cup full of some sort of steaming liquid. “Here,” Shiro said, holding the cup out to Reita. “Drink this. It will help calm your nerves.”

Reita pulled himself to his feet and approached the bars. He was about to reach for the cup when he heard a woman scream nearby.

“Did you offer some of this to her?” he asked with scorn.

“Yes. Unfortunately, she isn’t in a state to drink it.” Shiro shook his head sadly. “It’s so heartbreaking, what your masters have done to you.”

“You did this,” Reita yelled, slamming his fists against the bars. Shiro took a step back to stay out of Reita’s reach. “We were happy with our masters. You’re the one causing us this pain.”

“You think you were happy? You poor man. You weren’t happy. You were reliant on him. How long have you been with your master?”

“Thirteen years.”

“That’s a long time. In all that time, you must have felt his pain quite a few times.” Reita grit his teeth, but didn’t say anything. “What purpose could feeling another person’s pain possibly serve?”

“A few years ago,” Kai said weakly from the corner, “my master went for a ride alone on our grounds. He had barely begun his ride when his horse was startled and threw him off. He fell wrong. He broke his leg and was knocked unconscious. We didn’t expect him back until much later in the day. If I hadn’t felt his pain and sent men to look for him, he would have lain there for hours before anyone noticed he was missing. The medicine man said he could have died if we hadn’t found him when we did. The fact that I felt his pain saved his life.”

“But what good does it do for you?” Shiro asked softly.

“When my master thanked me for saving his life, it was one of the happiest moments I’ve ever experienced.” Kai began sobbing anew when he finished talking and Reita glared at the men on the other side of the bars.

“Our masters are good men. You’re keeping us from them for no reason.”

“No, we’re helping you,” Shiro said. “You are much better off away from them.”

“Then why do you have us locked up? Why did you have to kidnap us?”

“It has been our experience that people like you don’t always appreciate what we’re trying to do for them. They don’t realize that it’s for the best and they try to fight us.” Shiro sighed and shook his head again. “I can see the two of you aren’t going to cooperate. When your masters are forced to set you free, you’ll see that we were right all along. Until then, please let us know if you need anything.”

Shiro and the other man walked away and Reita dropped back down to his knees, the pain of his emotions overwhelming him again. He crawled over to Kai and pulled him up into a sitting position. The other man was shaking badly as he cried, and Reita was suddenly very afraid for his friend’s health.

“It’s ok, Kai. I’m going to get us out of here. I’ll figure something out.” Kai nodded but didn’t say anything. Reita wrapped his arm around Kai’s shoulders and rubbed his arm soothingly. “We’ll get out of here. We’ll get back to them.” Reita had a sudden idea. “Do you know what I’m going to do when I get out of here? I’m going to tell my master I love him. And then, we can finally have sex.” Kai giggled a little and Reita felt a rush of relief. “Can you tell me how to do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“My master and I are both virgins. I’m sure you and Aoi have had a lot of sex. Aoi seems like the type who needs it all the time.” Kai giggled again, and Reita could feel the shaking in his body begin to lessen. “I don’t want to do it wrong. So, can you tell me what to do?”

“Sure,” Kai replied, taking a shaking breath. Reita leaned back against the wall, trying to hold himself together as Kai started talking.

* * *

“I’m back,” Aoi called out. 

“What did you find out?” Ruki asked from his spot on the sofa. Aoi took a seat on the other sofa and sighed.

“The Magic Man said if the connection had been forcibly broken, or if they were dead, we would have felt it. He said it would be a feeling we couldn’t miss. I know we’ve both heard people describe what breaking the connection feels like; that string snapping or plucking in your heart. I haven’t felt anything like that. Have you?”

“No,” Ruki replied quietly.

“So, we know they’re alive and our connections are still in place.” He sighed again and Ruki noticed tears forming in his eyes. Aoi saw Ruki staring at him and gave a small smile. “Sorry. Kai spent the whole night away from me. I just can’t help thinking about what he’s going through. I’ve heard the sadness is unbearable.”

“They should have thought about that before they left,” Ruki said harshly.

“What do you mean?” Aoi asked, shocked by Ruki’s tone.

“Don’t you get it? They ran away. I knew Reita was mad at me, but I didn’t think he was so angry he would put himself through that. I guess I underestimated him.”

“And Kai? You think he would run away?”

“Reita could talk him into it. Kai isn’t exactly the type who could stand up to someone like Reita.”

“No.” Aoi glared at Ruki as he spoke. “I don’t care what you think your servant would do. Kai would never leave like that. We love each other. We’re happy together. And he’s stronger than you think.”

“Then how would you explain it? They aren’t dead. They didn’t run away. Where are they?”

“You won’t even consider that they were taken? That it wasn’t their choice?”

“Why would anyone take them?” Ruki yelled in frustration. “What purpose would that serve anyone?”

“I don’t know,” Aoi replied steadily. “But it’s the only explanation that makes sense.” He got up, still glaring at Ruki. “I’m going to go look for them again. You should rethink how you feel about Reita, if you could lose faith in him this easily.” Aoi left, slamming the door behind him. The moment he was gone, Ruki let the tears that he’d been holding back since Reita disappeared flow freely. He picked up the battered stuffed bunny he’d hidden under the sofa when Aoi walked in and clutched it to his chest as he cried.

* * *

They had spent three nights in their cell, but to Reita it felt like months. He couldn’t sleep. He forced himself to eat and drink. He made sure Kai did the same, doing his best to make sure the other man didn’t succumb to his sadness. 

On the second day, the woman he had heard screaming had been carried past their cell door on a stretcher. She was tied down tight, sobbing loudly, begging to be allowed to go back to her master. Reita could still hear her sobbing and screaming for a long time, but the sound suddenly cut off. He quietly hoped they had killed her, knowing death would be better than what they were feeling. The screams resumed a few hours later, and he realized she had only been unconscious. He envied her those few hours of peace.

On the third day, Kai began screaming and clawing at his face. Reita quickly wrapped his arms around his friend, pinning his arms to his side so he couldn’t hurt himself. He softly rocked Kai back and forth, making shushing noises through his own tears, until the other man had calmed down.

On the fourth day, Shiro came to the door of their cell, as he did a few times every day. Kai was curled up in the corner, as usual. Reita, on the other hand, was sitting calmly on the floor in the middle of the room. His breathing was steady and he wasn’t crying. His eyes were closed as if he were meditating.

“How are we feeling today?” Shiro asked.

Reita opened his eyes and smiled.

“I’m feeling good. Very good, in fact.” He took a deep breath and stood up. “I think my master must have set me free. I felt something strange, as if a string had been plucked in my heart. Then, the sadness was suddenly gone.” He approached the bars. “You were right. Now that the pain is gone, I realize I wasn’t truly happy.”

“That’s wonderful to hear,” Shiro declared with a broad smile. “You’re one of the lucky ones, you know. I knew you’d see things our way.”

“I certainly have. And I was thinking. We should work together. I can talk to the other people here. As a Connected, or former Connected, I can help them come around to your way of thinking.”

“That is a great idea!” 

Kai whimpered from the corner and they both found their attention drawn to him.

“Perhaps we should talk about this somewhere more private,” Reita whispered. “I don’t want to bother him.”

“Yes, I think you’re right.” Shiro waved over a very large man who pulled out a key ring and unlocked the door. The moment the door cracked open, Reita charged through it and slammed into Shiro, who’s head hit the wall, knocking him unconscious. As he did that, Kai followed his part of the plan and picked up one of the straw mattresses and threw it at the man with the keys, briefly knocking him off balance. He charged at the man, but he had already had time to recover and dodged to the side. Kai hit the wall the man had been standing in front of hard, knocking the torch hanging there to the floor. The larger man pulled a knife out of a holster on his belt and turned to Kai. Reita, who had been checking to make sure Shiro was really unconscious, saw the knife from the corner of his eye and lunged at the man. They both fell to the ground, fighting over the weapon. Reita gained the upper hand and stabbed the man in the chest. He continued to put up a bit of a fight, but Reita held the knife in place and the man soon stopped moving.

Reita grabbed the key ring that had fallen to the floor, barely noticing that the mattress Kai had thrown was now on fire from the fallen torch. He ran down the hall, unlocking cell doors as he went. Most of the occupants ran out immediately, though some had to be dragged to their feet. Once Reita made sure all of the cells were empty, he returned to where he had left Kai. The other captives were all milling around, unsure of what to do.

“I think the door is this way,” Reita announced. “Follow me. Once we’re out, run as quickly as you can. Find your masters and tell them what happened here.” Reita led the way to the front door, not noticing several other mattresses being added to the fire, which was steadily growing.

Once he made it outside, Reita held the door open, making sure everyone got out safely. People scattered in every direction, but Kai waited for Reita.

“Do you have any idea where we are?” Reita asked, taking in their surroundings. It was dark, well past sundown, and Reita didn’t recognize any of the buildings around them.

“I think we’re on the edge of the city,” Kai replied. He suddenly pointed at a building nearby. “I know that bakery. They make my master’s favorite curry buns. I know how to get home. This way!” He pulled Reita’s sleeve and they ran down the street. They ran for about 20 minutes before Kai stopped in his tracks. “Did you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Reita asked, confused.

“I suddenly feel… light.” Kai smiled broadly. “My master is close. Close enough that the sadness has gone!” They continued running in the direction they’d been going and only a couple of minutes later, they spotted Aoi walking along the street. “Master!” Aoi’s head shot up when Kai called out to him. He spotted the two men and began running towards them.

“Kai!” Aoi yelled, leaping into Kai’s arms. Kai spun him around before setting him down with a kiss. “I missed you so much! Where have you been?”

“We were being held captive,” Kai said, happy tears streaming down his face. “In a building near that bakery you love. What are you doing out here?”

“I knew you wouldn’t have run away. I was out looking for you. I was just about to head home.”

“Speaking of home,” Reita interrupted, “I still have no idea where I am. How do I get home from here?”

“If you follow this street for a while, you’ll eventually come to the market street,” Aoi said. “I’m sure you can find your way from there.”

“Yes, I can. Thank you. I’d love to join you on your walk home, but I need to get back to my master. You two take care of each other.”

“Are you kidding?” Kai said with a grin. “I’m not letting him out of bed for a week.”

Reita laughed and continued running down the street, not changing course until he reached the market street. Once he was within a couple blocks of home, he could feel the sadness dissipate and he suddenly felt excited instead. He sprinted all the way to the front door and barged into the living room, where he found Ruki lying on a sofa, reading by firelight.

“Master!” Ruki sat up as Reita ran toward him, and Reita dropped to his knees as soon as he reached the sofa, wrapping his arms around Ruki’s legs and laying his head in his lap. “I was so worried I’d never see you again.”

“Reita?” Ruki asked quietly, surprised by Reita’s sudden reappearance. “You came back?”

“Of course! Kai and I just escaped. I felt like I was going to die if I was away much longer.”

“Escaped?” Ruki slipped down onto his knees on the floor in front of Reita. He looked at Reita carefully. There were dark circles under his eyes, which were bloodshot and rimmed in red. “I thought you ran away. I’m so sorry, Reita.”

“I would never run away,” Reita said, hugging Ruki tightly. “I have to be with you, Master!”

Ruki took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and visualized a red string wrapped around his heart and coming out through his chest. He pictured the string going into Reita’s chest, wrapped around his heart. He imagined himself taking a knife and cutting the string in half. He could feel the string snap and when Reita moved away, he knew he’d felt it too.

“What did you do?” Reita asked, clutching his chest.

“I set you free.” He cupped Reita’s face with both hands. “Look at you. You were only gone for four days and you look like you haven’t slept in weeks. I can’t have you go through that again.” Reita hugged him again, but Ruki pushed him away. “We should get to bed. I’m sure you’re tired.”

“I am,” Reita said a bit uncertainly. “I’ll see you in the morning then.” Ruki only nodded as he headed toward his room.

* * *

In the morning, Ruki woke up to the smell of something delicious cooking. He walked out of his room to find Reita busy in the kitchen.

“I would have thought you would sleep in.”

“I wanted to,” Reita said with a laugh. “But my stomach wouldn’t let me. You’re right on time, though. I just finished.” He dished the food out onto two plates and handed one to Ruki. “I’m sorry there’s no toast. There wasn’t any bread in the pantry. Actually, there wasn’t much of anything in the pantry. We’ll have to go to the market later.”

“You could have taken some money and gone to the market yourself. Fresh baked bread first thing in the morning is always a nice treat.”

“Alone?”

“Yes, Reita. You’re free now. You can go places alone without having to worry.”

“Oh, right.” Reita scowled down at his plate, pushing the food around with his fork.

“Reita, we need to talk about something.” Ruki put his fork down and took a deep breath. “I was up all night mulling this over. I think, now that you’re free, maybe you should live alone.”

“What do you mean?” Reita’s expression was confused and hurt, and Ruki couldn’t look at him. “I can’t leave. You’re everything to me!”

“And that’s exactly the problem. You’re so dependent on me. You don’t want to stay with me; you need to. You don’t have anything in your life other than me. You don’t even want to go to the market without me. I don’t want that for you. I want you to have a life of your own.” He took Reita’s hands, but the other man quickly pulled them away. Ruki couldn’t blame him for being angry. 

“You don’t want me here?” Reita asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “How could you do this? I just went through hell because I wasn’t with you. And that was after… after we spent so much time unable to be together. After the pain we both went through the past couple of years. Or was I the only one who felt that?”

“How can you ask me that? Of course it was painful for me. And I do want you here. But now that you’re free, now that you aren’t required to be here, I think some time on your own will be good for you. I really do. After some time, after you’ve established yourself, we can talk about… things between us. And I can find you a job…”

“Don’t bother.” Reita stood up and stormed to the door.

“Reita!” He paused at the door but didn’t turn around. “I really do think this is for the best.” Reita left without another word, leaving Ruki to wonder if he believed his own words.


	9. Conclusions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains a bit of torture. (It also contains the "Eventual Smut" mentioned in the tags, but I thought it was more important to warn you about the torture.)

Ruki immediately regretted sending Reita away. He kept telling himself it was for the best, but barely a half an hour later, he ran out of the house to look for his friend. He had hoped Reita would be sitting outside, knowing he would change his mind and waiting on him. Instead, Reita was nowhere to be found. Ruki spent days looking for Reita everywhere he could think of, but never found any trace of him.

A little more than a week after Ruki told Reita to leave, Aoi came to visit. Ruki practically ran to the door when he heard the knock, but made a disappointed noise when he saw that it was Aoi.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Aoi said.

“I’m sorry. I just was hoping…”

“You were hoping it would be Reita. I know.” 

“Where’s Kai?”

“Out. I set him free you know, so now I can run errands without worrying about him.” Aoi scratched the back of his head nervously. “Actually, he’s helping Reita settle into his new place.”

“He’s what?” Ruki asked in shock.

“He was staying with us until yesterday. But he finally found a job and a place to stay.”

“He was staying with you? But, I went to your house more than once looking for him. Why didn’t you tell me he was there?”

“He asked us not to. In fact, he’s asked us not to tell you how to find him now.” Aoi could see that Ruki was angry with him, but he had to tell him the truth. “He’s mad at you Ruki. He doesn’t want to see you. Honestly, can you blame him?”

“No,” Ruki admitted. He sighed deeply. “I’m sorry. I know you would have told me if he’d allowed it.”

“Why did you send him away? You still haven’t told me. You two could finally be together. I don’t understand.”

“You know Reita never would have left if I didn’t push him away. Even with the connection broken he would never leave.”

“But, Ruki, he didn’t want to leave you!”

“I can’t think of any reason he’d want to stay with me. How do you know he would?” Ruki looked at his friend with tears in his eyes.

“Because, he keeps asking me how you are. He still cares about you. And, he told me to tell you that he’s ok. He doesn’t want you worrying about him.” Ruki broke down in tears and Aoi wrapped him in a hug. “I understand. You still doubt his feelings for you. But Ruki, you’re one of my oldest friends and I’m saying this with love: you are really dumb.” Ruki laughed a bit but kept crying. Aoi held the smaller man for a minute while he got himself together. Once Ruki wasn’t crying anymore, Aoi pulled away from the hug. “Are you ok?” Ruki nodded that he was. “Good. Because this place is disgusting. I can’t believe this is what you live like when Reita isn’t around. We need to start cleaning. Now.”

* * *

A few months passed with no word from Reita. Kai let Ruki know that he saw Reita occasionally, that he seemed to be doing well, but he never had any messages he wanted to pass on to Ruki other than the fact that he was doing fine. Still, every time someone came to Ruki’s door, he hoped that it was Reita. He was always disappointed to find it wasn’t his old friend. And so it was on this day.

Ruki was doing some work at his dining room table, a habit he had picked up since he was still hesitant to convert the room that was supposed to be Reita’s into a study, when there was a knock at the front door. His heart jumped into his throat and he walked quickly to answer. When he opened the door, he was met with the sight of two strange men. One was short but well-built. The other was tall, with most of his face hidden by the hood of his cloak.

“Good evening,” the tall man said. “We’re looking for Reita. Is he in?”

“No,” Ruki answered in confusion. “He isn’t here.”

“That’s too bad. He must be nearby, though. I guess we’ll have to draw him back.” He gave a signal to the shorter man, who abruptly punched Ruki in the stomach. Ruki doubled over in pain, all of the breath knocked out of him. “That should certainly get his attention,” the tall man said with a laugh. Ruki dropped to his knees and the tall man kicked him over.

“What do you want?” Ruki asked as soon as he was able to draw enough breath to speak.

“I told you. We’re looking for Reita.” The tall man lowered his hood, revealing the rest of his face that had been concealed. Half of it was covered in burn scars that looked like they were still healing. “You see what he did to me,” the man said, a dangerous edge to his voice. “And I’m one of the lucky ones. Most of our people were trapped on the second floor when he set that fire. None of them survived. There are only a handful of us left.”

“You’re the people who were holding him and Kai captive.”

“We were trying to help him. To save him from you.” He grabbed Ruki’s jaw and squeezed, but Ruki only glared back at him. “He’s taking a long time getting back here, isn’t he?” He let go of Ruki’s jaw and gave the other man another signal.

“He won’t come. You’re wasting your time.” Ruki was tempted to tell them that he’d set Reita free, but he didn’t think they’d believe him. From what Kai had told him, he didn’t think these men would see reason.

“We’ll see about that,” the tall man said coolly. The other man grabbed Ruki roughly, forcing him into a chair. He had ropes in his hands, and Ruki began to fight back hard. The man hit Ruki over the head with something heavy, leaving him dazed. He took the opportunity to tie Ruki’s wrists to the arms of the chair. “Now,” the tall man said, “let’s see if we can’t get Reita to come out of hiding.”

He pulled a small box from a pocket in his cloak. He set it on a nearby table and opened it, but Ruki couldn’t see what was inside no matter how much he craned his neck. He didn’t have to wait long to find out, though. When the man turned around, he was holding a long needle in his hand. He approached Ruki slowly, allowing the bound man to take his time imagining what was about to happen. Once he reached the side of the chair, he pressed his knee down on Ruki’s left hand, making it so he couldn’t curl his fingers into his fist. He grabbed Ruki’s index finger and gave the smaller man a wicked grin. Without warning, he stabbed the needle under the nail of the finger he was holding. Ruki screamed loudly before the shorter man clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t worry,” the tall man said. “I have more. Let’s see how many we can use before Reita shows up. Surely with this much pain, he’ll be on his way soon.” He grabbed another needle from the box and turned back to Ruki. “Hold his head still,” he said to the other man, who did as he was told. With his free hand, the tall man held Ruki’s left eye open, allowing the needle to hover above his eye.

Ruki was breathing heavily, unable to scream, or plead, or explain that Reita wasn’t feeling any of this. He had no doubt this man would stab that needle into his eye and there was nothing he could do to stop him. But that didn’t happen. The tall man paused and tilted his head thoughtfully.

“Or… maybe you’re right. Maybe he won’t come.” Ruki tried to nod as much as he could with his head still in a vice grip. “If that’s the case, there’s still one more thing we can do. If we kill you, Reita will die, too. I wish I could see his death. But, I’ll just have to make sure it’s nice and slow and painful.” He crouched in front of Ruki with a wicked smile. “As long as I make you suffer, I’ll know he’s suffering too. That will have to be enough.”

Ruki began struggling violently, but he couldn’t get away. The tall man went into the kitchen and grabbed a large knife. He approached Ruki menacingly, but stopped when the door burst open and four imperial guardsmen came rushing into the room, swords drawn, yelling at the intruders to drop to their knees. The men did so and were immediately surrounded. Ruki closed his eyes, breathing a sigh of relief. He felt someone rapidly untying him and examining his face.

“What did they do to you?” It was a familiar voice and Ruki’s eyes popped open in disbelief. It was true though. The person who had untied him was Reita.

“Reita?” Ruki dropped down to the floor next to his friend and allowed the other man to pull him into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry I was late. I heard you scream and brought the guardsmen. Are you ok?” Ruki nodded numbly, but the action caused his head to hurt and he grimaced. “You’re not ok,” Reita exclaimed, looking at the wound on his head. He turned to the guardsmen. “He needs a medicine man!” One of the guardsmen ran from the room and Reita turned back to Ruki, holding his injured hand but not daring to pull out the needle. Reita glared at the tall man, who was being put in irons. “Shiro,” he snarled. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

“Yes, you should have,” Shiro laughed as he was led from the room. “You haven’t heard the last of us.”

The medicine man came in right after the arrested men had been led out. He declared Ruki’s wounds superficial, unceremoniously pulled the needle from under his fingernail, and left in a huff at being deprived of any major injuries to treat. After he left, and the guardsmen had taken a statement from Ruki, the two old friends were left alone. Reita continued to hold Ruki close, reluctant to let him go. They sat on the floor in silence until Ruki suddenly jumped back.

“Kai!” Ruki urgently got to his feet. “What if some of them went after Kai, too?”

Reita’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet. The two of them ran out of the house and sprinted the couple of blocks to the house Aoi and Kai shared. They walked in without knocking and stopped in the entryway. They heard a groan come from the direction of the dining room.

“That sounded like Aoi,” Reita whispered and they swiftly made their way to the door leading into that room. They walked in quickly… and stopped in their tracks, unable to turn away from what they saw.

Kai and Aoi were in the dining room, both completely naked, their clothes in a pile nearby. Aoi was bent over the table, a look of absolute bliss on his face as Kai thrust into him from behind. He moaned again, breaking the spell Ruki and Reita had been under. They quietly backed out of the room and made their way out of the house. Once they were on the street, they both doubled over with laughter.

“You know,” Reita said, “I don’t think they ever knew where Kai lived.” Ruki laughed and took Reita’s hand as they walked back the way they came. When they reached Ruki’s front door, Reita squeezed the smaller man’s hand and backed away a bit. “I guess I’ll be off now.”

“No, wait,” Ruki said quickly. “Would you stay with me tonight? Please?”

“Of course,” Reita replied with a sweet smile. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to.”

“Well, at least for dinner,” Ruki said as they went inside.

“Oh? And what are we having?” Reita asked with a playful grin.

“Listen, you! I’ve learned to cook a few things living on my own. I’m not helpless.”

“My mistake,” Reita replied, raising his hands up in surrender. “So, what are we having?”

“To be honest, I think noodles would be the safest bet.” 

Ruki got to work cooking while Reita watched. Neither of them said anything, nor did they say anything as they ate their meal. One of them would occasionally shift his eyes toward the other, but would look away quickly. Once they were done eating, Ruki suggested they sit in the living room. Reita started a fire and Ruki opened a bottle of wine. They sat in silence, slowly sipping the wine, until Ruki finally got up the courage to break the ice.

“Rei, when you first got here earlier… when you saved me, you said ‘I’m sorry I was late’. What did you mean by that?”

“I don’t want you to get mad.” Reita looked to Ruki for some sort of response, but he didn’t say anything. Reita took a deep breath and continued. “A couple times a week – actually, more like almost every day - I’ve been coming by after work. I got a job at that little bookstore down the street, and I live in the room above the shop. It’s a good job; I like it a lot. Once I get off work, I like to take a walk. Usually, I walk here. And I stand outside the front door, trying to work up the courage to knock.” Reita looked down as if ashamed of himself. “Sometimes, I look in the windows. Just to make sure you’re ok. I want to make sure you’re eating, things like that. I don’t mean to be spying or anything. I just worry about you. But I understand if that makes you mad. Anyway, today I was held up talking to a customer. If I had left at my normal time, I would have seen them before they even knocked on your door. I could have stopped them from hurting you at all. So, I’m sorry.” Reita drained the rest of his wine in one gulp, waiting for Ruki to respond.

“Reita,” Ruki said softly. “It’s not your fault they hurt me. Let’s say you had been here on time, and you did try to stop them from getting to me. They could have hurt you instead.” Ruki ran a hand slowly down Reita’s arm until he was holding his hand. “I wouldn’t want that. They already hurt you so much. And I’m not mad that you come by. If I knew where you were, I would have done the same thing. Except I would have knocked weeks ago.” They both laughed, but Ruki became serious again quickly. “I’m surprised you’ve been keeping an eye on me, though. I don’t deserve it. I should never have made you leave. It was wrong. We could have worked through things without being apart.”

“No, you were right. I didn’t think so at first. I was actually really angry with you. But after a few days, I tried seeing things the way you do. Aoi helped. He told me some things you had told him. You overthink everything, but it usually leads you to the right answer. I did need time away from you. The past couple of years, even though we grew apart a bit, I still knew I could count on you for anything and everything. I needed to be alone, to learn how to depend on myself. And I discovered that I really like being independent.” He squeezed Ruki’s hand, keeping his eyes downcast. “That doesn’t mean that I want us to continue to stay apart. My feelings for you haven’t changed. Even when I was mad at you, I still cared more about you than anyone or anything else in the world. You said that after some time had gone by, we could talk about… things.”

“Yes, and we definitely do need to have a conversation. But maybe later?” Reita looked up at Ruki in confusion and saw the smaller man staring at him intently. Ruki leaned forward and captured Reita’s lips in a kiss. Reita immediately returned the kiss, setting his empty glass aside so he could wrap his arms around Ruki’s waist. Ruki set his own glass aside and climbed over so that he was straddling Reita’s lap. He wrapped his arms around the taller man’s neck while Reita ran his hands all over Ruki’s hips and thighs, caressing and squeezing. The kiss quickly became more heated and Ruki ground his hips down, causing Reita to moan against his lips. Reita broke the kiss suddenly, breathlessly pushing Ruki away by his shoulders.

“Are you sure this is ok?” Reita asked, searching Ruki’s eyes. “It’s just, last time…”

“I know. I still have some of the same concerns that I did then. But… right now, for once, I don’t want to question this.” He bit his lip nervously, but looked Reita in the eye. “I keep thinking about what we saw today. With Kai and Aoi. But I’ve been imagining you and me. Doing the same thing.” He leaned forward, and Reita didn’t hold him back. He put his lips right next to Reita’s ear. “I want to feel you. I won’t stop you this time. Neither of us should have to wait any longer.”

Reita stood up, picking Ruki up bridal style as he did. Ruki started placing kisses on Reita’s neck, but stopped when he noticed Reita was carrying him into the kitchen. He gave Reita a confused frown, but Reita only laughed.

“Grab that bottle of oil,” Reita said. Ruki did as he was told, but the confused look didn’t leave his face. “Trust me, you’ll be happy we have it.”

Reita made his way to Ruki’s bedroom and gently laid him down on the bed, setting the bottle of oil on the nightstand. He climbed into the bed next to Ruki and kissed him passionately. It wasn’t long before Ruki began tugging at Reita’s clothes, impatient to feel his skin. Reita laughed into the kiss and pulled away, standing up and stripping off his clothes. Ruki quickly removed his own clothing and laid back against the pillows. Reita crawled back onto the bed and ran a hand down Ruki’s torso. Now that they were both naked, they took a minute just admiring and touching each other’s bodies.

Reita let his hand wander around Ruki’s body for a few moments before tentatively moving it to his groin. Ruki drew in a shaky breath when Reita finally took hold of him and began stroking. He moved his own hand toward Reita’s member to begin stroking him in return. They were kissing again, moaning into each other’s mouths. Ruki broke the kiss and rolled onto his side so his back was facing Reita. With his hand still wrapped around Reita’s member, he began maneuvering it toward his entrance.

“Wait,” Reita stopped him. Ruki gave him a disappointed look and Reita chuckled a bit. “I’m impatient, too. But there’s something we have to do first so I don’t hurt you.”

“Hurt me?”

“Yeah. If you aren’t prepared, it can hurt a lot.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I haven’t been with anyone else, if that’s what you’re thinking. Kai told me all about it when we were… while we were away.”

“You two talked about sex while you were locked up?” Ruki asked with a laugh.

“Well, sure.” Reita returned the laugh, but then he frowned sadly. “I didn’t think he would make it if I didn’t keep him talking.” Ruki reached up and stroked Reita’s cheek affectionately, and Reita grabbed his hand and held it to the side of his face, closing his eyes tight. Ruki suddenly realized how much pain Reita still felt from that experience, and he hated himself for sending him away all over again. After a few moments, Reita’s expression lightened and he laughed again. “Also, Aoi gave me a book that has a lot of tips.”

Ruki laughed as Reita reached for the bottle of oil. He encouraged Ruki to lay on his back and lift his knees. Reita poured a bit of oil on one hand, coating his fingers.

“If this hurts, or you’re uncomfortable with this, or you want me to stop for any reason, let me know.” He gave Ruki a small smile. “I know you said you wouldn’t stop me this time, but I won’t hold you to that. If you want me to stop, I will.”

“And if I want you to stop, you’ll know it.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Reita said with a laugh. He leaned down and kissed Ruki quickly, then moved to kneel between the smaller man’s legs. He hesitatingly pressed the tip of his middle finger past the rim of Ruki’s hole. Ruki made a surprised noise and laughed.

“That wasn’t so bad.”

“That’s just the tip of one finger,” Reita said with a small chuckle. He began slowly moving the finger in and out, watching Ruki’s face the whole time. As he thrust his finger deeper, Ruki closed his eyes and began breathing more heavily. Reita figured that was a good sign. “I think I should add a second finger now.” Ruki nodded and Reita pushed the tip of a second finger in. Ruki let out a small whimper and Reita paused, until Ruki reached down and grabbed his wrist, pushing his hand so that his fingers went in deeper. Reita took the lead from there, more emboldened now that he knew Ruki didn’t want him to stop. He turned his fingers as he thrust and Ruki gasped.

“Whatever you just did,” Ruki panted out, “do it again.” Reita realized he had hit the bundle of nerves the book had mentioned and he focused on repeating the motion. Before long, Ruki was moaning loudly and writhing beneath him.

“I think you’re ready,” Reita said as he pulled away. He grabbed the oil and poured a good amount over his erection, coating it thoroughly. He noticed Ruki biting his lip nervously and stopped. “Unless… you aren’t ready. We don’t have to – “

“No, it’s ok. I’m ready. Should I turn over?” Reita gave him a confused look and he blushed. “It’s just, Aoi had his back to Kai. Is that… how it’s supposed to be done?” 

“No, I think this will be fine.” Reita stroked Ruki’s cheek. “I want to be able to see your face.” Ruki took a deep breath as Reita positioned himself between his thighs. Reita leaned forward with his hands on either side of Ruki’s shoulders and began pushing in. Ruki held back the urge to make any noise, knowing Reita would interpret it as pain and stop what he was doing. Once Reita had pushed all the way in, he paused and looked Ruki in the eye. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t hurt much. The pain’s already going away. How does it feel for you?”

“Amazing,” Reita said as he huffed out a laugh. “Are you ready for me to start moving?” Ruki nodded and Reita slowly started moving his hips. Ruki ran his hands up and down Reita’s arms, his eyes shut tight. Reita tried to keep a slow, steady pace, focusing on not thrusting too hard. It was difficult, though. He had never imagined finally being with Ruki would feel this good. As he continued, he noticed Ruki’s face transform from an expression of discomfort to one of pleasure. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the smaller man’s, and was gifted with a passionate kiss in return.

Reita gradually allowed his pace to build, monitoring Ruki’s expression the whole time. Ruki began moaning loudly and Reita gained more confidence. However, as he thrust faster, the feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him he was close grew quickly. He didn’t want to finish before Ruki, so he moved one hand down and took hold of Ruki’s erection. Ruki let out a gasp as Reita began stroking him and dug his fingers into the larger man’s shoulders.

“Reita… I can’t… close...”

“It’s ok. Let go.” Reita stroked Ruki faster and it only took a few more moments before Ruki released between them, biting his bottom lip so hard Reita was surprised it didn’t bleed. Reita cried out as he felt Ruki’s body clench around him and he came after only a few more thrusts. His arms shook as he held himself up, not wanting to collapse on the smaller man but reluctant to pull out. Finally, he leaned down, gave Ruki a soft kiss, and rolled off of him. Ruki rolled over onto his side so he and Reita were lying face to face. “How do you feel?” Reita asked. “Are you in any pain?”

“I’m fine,” Ruki reassured him. “Wonderful, in fact. Don’t worry.” Ruki took a deep breath and dropped his eyes. “That’s actually what we need to talk about.”

“You want to have that conversation now?!” Reita asked in disbelief.

“Well, yes. Why not now?”

“We just…” Reita laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “Ok, let’s talk.”

“That’s what’s been bugging me all along. You’re always more concerned with me being happy than with your own happiness. You always do what I want you to do, and you’ve never asserted your own desires. It makes me worried that… you’re just being a good servant.”

“And it makes you doubt if my feelings for you are real?” Ruki nodded timidly. “I understand,” Reita said with a sigh. “And that all makes sense. But, first of all, I’m not your servant anymore. I’ve never really even thought of myself as your servant, nor have I ever concerned myself with being a good servant except in public. I do what you want to do because it’s almost always what I want to do, too. And if it isn’t what I want to do, it usually isn’t important enough to argue with you. Is it a problem that we’re compatible?” Ruki blushed a bit and Reita played with a strand of the shorter man’s hair. “As for me being worried about whether or not you’re happy, or wanting you not to be in pain, isn’t that normal? To want the person you love to be happy? That’s my only reason, Ruki. Because I love you.”

“Say that again,” Ruki said, looking up at Reita with wide eyes.

“I love you.”

“No, not that part,” Ruki said, lightly hitting Reita on the chest. “My name. That was the first time I’ve ever heard you say my name. It was nice.”

“Ruki,” Reita said with a laugh. “Ruki, Ruki, Ruki.” He nuzzled Ruki’s neck as he repeated his name over and over until the smaller man was giggling helplessly. Reita pulled Ruki closer to him, and Ruki closed his eyes with a smile.

“I love you, too.” He said softly. “Move back in with me.” Ruki paused for a moment before continuing. “That wasn’t an order or anything. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“I do want to. But under a few conditions. We’re going to have a relationship of equals. I’m going to keep my job and pay some of the bills. You’re going to trust that I’m here because I want to be. And that my feelings for you are real. And if either of us have concerns about our relationship, we talk about them. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Ruki said, kissing Reita’s chest. He was surprised to feel himself growing aroused again, and he blushed at the thought that Reita could tell. “So, Aoi gave you a book? I’d like to read that.” Reita laughed and pulled Ruki close so that their groins rubbed together.

“I’ll go get it tomorrow. For now, I’ll just try to remember some of the things I read.”

* * *

A few days later, Ruki and Reita were making out on one of the sofas in their living room, hands down the front of each other’s pants, when Aoi and Kai barged into the room. Aoi unceremoniously plopped down on the other sofa, winking at the two men sitting up and trying to arrange themselves so their erections weren’t showing. Kai, on the other hand, kept his eyes demurely downcast as he took a seat next to Aoi.

“I told you we should have knocked,” he said quietly.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Aoi replied. “They’ve walked in on us doing much worse.”

“We had a good reason for that,” Ruki said.

“I’m sure you did.”

“Wait, what happened?” Kai asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Aoi replied, patting his knee. “It looks like you two have talked things out.”

“Yes,” Ruki replied. “We have had a few long conversations.”

“Isn’t it amazing how many problems talking can solve? Maybe you should take my advice more often.” Ruki stuck his tongue out and Aoi laughed as he continued. “Anyway, the actual reason we’re here is we come bearing news. We’ve just come from the imperial palace. As of this morning, it is officially illegal to own a Connected. The emperor decreed that all Connecteds must be set free immediately, and he will have Magic Men forcibly break all connections that aren’t willingly broken. They’re even setting up an ‘Integration’ program to help former Connecteds if they can’t, or won’t, stay on as normal servants in their current households.”

“Wow, I wonder what made the emperor finally make that decision,” Ruki said.

“It could be the small fact that the emperor wants to take on another wife. A woman who happens to be the Connected of one of his advisors.”

“There’s something else,” Kai said quietly. “We were speaking to one of the guards at the prison this morning. Shiro was placed in a cell with one of the men who was being held captive with us. And, well…”

“He’s dead.” Reita wasn’t asking, but Kai nodded his head in confirmation anyway. “I can’t say I’ll mourn him,” Reita said, taking Ruki’s hand in his. The men fell quiet, until Reita decided to lighten the mood a bit. “So, Kai, now that you’re officially free, are you going to get a job?”

“My husband, work?” Aoi asked in mock disgust. “I would never hear of it.”

“Aoi wants me to be his kept man,” Kai said with a giggle.

“Husband?” Reita asked with a raised brow.

“Of course,” Aoi replied. “Now that he’s legally free, we can do whatever we want and my parents can’t say a word about it.” He sat back with a smug grin, but then he gasped as if suddenly remembering something. “Speaking of parents, have you heard from Uruha?”

“Uruha? No, why?” Ruki asked.

“We saw him and your father in the market yesterday.” Aoi’s voice held a hint of laughter as he spoke. “They were in a shop owned by one of the clients we stole from him recently. Your father was trying to win him back, and he said some not terribly flattering things about you. So, Uruha punched him in the jaw and resigned. Right there in the shop!”

“He punched my father?” Ruki exclaimed in shock.

“Yep. I’ve never seen your father look so surprised.” Aoi laughed and shook his head. “Anyway, he’s staying in an inn nearby. He said he’d come pay you a visit soon.”

“We’ll have to treat him to dinner,” Reita said.

“We’ll have to treat him to a feast!” Ruki was grinning from ear to ear and Reita couldn’t help but laugh.

“A feast sounds good,” Aoi said, getting to his feet. “Come on, Kai. Let’s see if these lovebirds have anything in their kitchen that you can turn into a decent meal.” Aoi and Kai went into the kitchen, leaving Reita and Ruki alone again.

“Married,” Reita said, shaking his head. “What do you think about that?” He looked Ruki in the eye and they spent a moment staring at each other before Ruki replied.

“I think… we should get a dog.”

“A dog, huh? A big dog that could protect us?” Ruki pouted, looking up at the other man with the saddest eyes he could manage. Reita rolled his eyes. “Fine, a small dog that you can carry around.”

Reita laughed and put an arm around Ruki’s shoulders, drawing him closer. Ruki rested his head against Reita’s shoulder, closed his eyes, and smiled contentedly. He knew the topic of marriage would come up again, soon, and would be considered more seriously. They would get married, of course. He knew Reita would never leave him again, and he would never ask him to. Most of all, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man he loved returned his feelings. And that was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to leave this whole story PG-13 and just gloss over the sex. But then I imagined what their first time would be like and I just had to write it.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this story. I'm considering writing a companion piece that would focus on Aoi and Kai as their feelings developed. But, if I do write it, it won't be posted soon. So, for now, this is the end.


End file.
